The Namekian Cycle
by NamekianKAMI
Summary: The story takes place some years after The Buu saga. Piccolo had decided to reside on the Lookout after the defeat of Buu, and in the years to follow, Piccolo and Dende develop an intimate relationship. As you read, you'll find Piccolo and Dende growing from one another and learning much about themselves as their lives change.
1. Chapter 1

Trunks: "Yeah. Bra is the same way. You can tell when it's that time for her too. And, between her, my mom, and dad, you can never tell what's going to happen."

*Goten hesitates for a second,* "Wait. Did you just suggest your dad has periods?"

*Everyone looks around at each other and suddenly burst into laughter.*

Gohan: "Well I'm not surprised!" *Laughter continues*

Trunks: "No! I didn't mean that." *light laughter* I guess that kind of didn't make sense, but I'm just saying… What I meant was, my mother and Bra are worst around that time, but all three of them can get irate."

Gohan: "Haha, right?"

*Laughter continues between them all s they continue to conversate. While in the far end of the room, Piccolo, Dende, and Popo are sitting quietly, listening in on the conversation. Dende looks briefly over at Piccolo in wonder, and giggles lightly.*

Piccolo: "What?"

*Dende shakes his head and thinks to himself*, "Maybe that's why Piccolo gets moody sometimes." *Dende begins to giggle some more as he reflects on the past some, remembering some times when Piccolo would blow up over some small things.*

Piccolo: "What's wrong with you? What are you laughing about now?"

Dende: "Just thinking."

Piccolo: "About?"

Dende: "You."

*Piccolo quirks a brow.* "What in Kami's name could he be thinking about that has anything to do with me?", he questioned himself.*

*Piccolo lets out a sigh* "Alright…c'mon."

Dende: "Hmm?"

Piccolo: "What is it about me you are thinking!?"

*Immediately everyone's eyes are on Piccolo. Piccolo backs up a little and takes a look around at everyone in the room.*

Gohan: "Piccolo, you okay?"

*Goten whispers*, "He's probably just having his period."

*Piccolo's ears twitch and all the while Gohan's trying to signal to his brother to stop talking.*

Piccolo: "You know…Goten. I can hear you! Our hearing is more ACCUTE than YOURS! I COULD OF HEARD YOU WHISPER THAT OVER A MILE OR SO AWAY, IDIOT! JUST SHUT THE HELL UP!"*Piccolo's eyes are now a little bloodshot with anger*

*Goten ducks down some, "Ehhh…sorry! I'm just joking!", laughing as he rubs his head.*

*Gohan just shushes his brother, and everyone remains silent for some time. After a while, the others continue to conversate, while Piccolo just sits back and relaxes once more, only now starring at Dende, irritated.*

Piccolo: "Ya best tell me, because if you don't,...don't think I'm not gonna beat your ass here when they leave." *Piccolo now talking in their native Namekian language to Dende.*

Dende: "What?!" *Now also speaking in Namekian*

*The others look back, listening to them both talking, but not understanding what's being said. Then they all turn back around, keeping themselves out of whatever was going on between Piccolo and Dende*

Piccolo: "So, you say you were thinking about me."

*Dende lets out a deep long sigh* "Okay okay. They were talking about, well…you know." Dende acting like the conversation was taboo and couldn't be talked about.*

Piccolo: "Menses? Is that what you're referring too?"

Dende: "Yeah….it is."

*Mr. Popo talking to himself* "Dear Kami. Why did I take up learning your native tongue? Some of the things I hear. There are days I wish I'd rather not."

*Piccolo, looking at Dende, but responds to Popo, replies* "Than go park your ass somewhere else."

*Mr. Popo's face expresses shock to the comment, but yet somehow he's not surprised. After all, it's Piccolo* "...Okay."

*Piccolo still looking at Dende* "Hmm?!"

Dende: "Well they were talking about it and I started thinking back about some of the times you were more moody than usual and I had just wondered…"

Piccolo: "What? That it was THAT time of the month or something?"

*Dende a bit shaken now* "Yeah. Well, I don't know. It just made me laugh of the thought, that's all."

Piccolo: "Might as well just drop it."

*Dende nods* "Sorry."

Piccolo: "It's…okay."

Goten: "Hey you guys!" *Looking back at Dende and Piccolo, Goten walks over towards them*

Goten: "Okay, look I'm sorry, I was just joking. But out of curiosity, how does that work for you guys?"

Gohan: "Goten…"

Goten: "I wonder. You know. If you spit eggs out of your mouths, do you…Do you guys have your periods out of there too? Because you know, from what I understand, there's no girls in your species. So I just put everything together and figured, well it makes sense!"

*Gohan is facepalming the entire time.* "OH. MY. KAMI."

Trunks: "That sounds pretty disgusting Goten." *With an ill look on his face*

Goten: "But it does! Right?"

*Piccolo just looses it and busts out laughing. Dende trying not to laugh, looks at Piccolo surprised of the reaction, he thought it would have been the opposite.*

*Piccolo's eyes begin to tear up and Gohan looks on in shock as well., "What has gotten into Piccolo?, Gohan thought to himself*

*Piccolo converts back to English* "Goten. You're about as much of an idiot as your father can be sometimes. Instead of making all these theories, ya know you can ask, right? Even though I feel quite uncomfortable in you asking me, let alone having to conversate to you about it."

Goten: "Uh, I did just ask."

Piccolo: "Yeah…I guess so. In an odd way."

*Everyone becomes quiet and waits for Piccolo to start talking*

Piccolo: "Eh…okay. The truth is…We throw up blood during our cycle!" *Piccolo couldn't restrain himself, as laughter filled the room once more from both him and Dende.*

Goten: "C'mon you guys!"

Piccolo: "Fine…We don't have menses like your species. Our bodies pretty much just recycle what we don't use."

*The three warriors look at each other, than back to the two Namekians*

Trunks: "Meaning?"

*Dende now converting back to English* "It's…it's kind of like... You know paper? You guys use paper, but it gets recycled and made into paper once more so that you can use it again?"

*They all nod*

Dende: "It's like that."

*All three of them look at Piccolo and Dende, and then at each other in awe.*

Gohan: "You know. That actually makes sense, considering how fast you guys can regenerate parts of your body…I guess."

Trunks: "Hey, my mom's gonna love to hear this story."

Gohan: "I bet, right?"

*Piccolo lets out a light sigh* "Glad that's over with then."

*Dende laughs lightly*

Goten: "Well, thanks for explaining. Normally, I probably wouldn't of ever have asked that. But, you know how you talk about one thing and it leads to other topics? It kind of just happened. Sorry."

*Piccolo and Dende both nod and conversations between the three warriors continued between themselves throughout the night.*


	2. Chapter 2

***This scene takes place the day after the three warriors spared at the Lookout.***

*After spending a month's time training at the look out, their final morning had come, and to the warrior's surprise, Mr. Popo had made breakfast for them. After consuming their food, the warriors agreed to meet up another time. Each of them wished each other a good farewell, until next time.*

Trunks: "Alright guys. See ya later!"

*The three warriors went their separate ways, descending towards their destinations.*

*Some time later, Trunks arrives at Capsule Corperation.*

Trunks: "Hey! Anyone home?!"

Bra: "Keep it down! I'm trying to read in peace!"

*Silently replying, as Trunks walked in the livingroom*: "Sorry. I just didn't see anyone at first."

*Trunks notices a pile of candy wrappers in the small garbage can next to Bra.*

Bra: "You need something? What are you looking at?"

Trunks: "Uh, I was just looking at the wrappers in the trash."

Bra: "Do you have a problem with it? I eat a lot of chocolate. When I'm on my period! YOU. KNOW. THAT!"

*Trunks eyes widen as he swallows hard* "NO! I know! I mean! I didn't mean anything by it!"

Bra: "What?! Do you think I'm a fat pig or something?! Well screw you! Get out of her, jerk!"

Trunks: "Okay, sorry!"

*Trunks takes no time getting out of the livingroom, making his way to his mother's lab.*

Trunks: "Mom? ...Mom?!"

*Popping her head around the corner.* "Hey Trunks! How did training go for the past month? Got stronger I'm sure?" *Winking at him*

Trunks: "Yeah, definitely."

Bulma: "What's wrong? You look a bit shooken up?"

Trunks: "Uh…it's nothing. I just…I just got chewed out by Bra. Like every month, heh."

Bulma: "Yeah, your father goes through it with me too. You might as well get use to it. I don't know one woman who's not like that. I mean, there MIGHT be one out there, but there's none that I know."

*Trunks sheds a sweat drop* "You don't say, huh?"

Bulma: "Mmmhmm."

Trunks: "Oh! Mom, speaking of which. You know, this might seem weird, but Bra reminded me of something that was briefly spoken about last night. You might be interested."

Bulma: "Oh, really? And what might that be?"

Trunks: "Well, I know how you are, I know how you like things."

Bulma: "Uh…okay?"

Trunks: "Piccolo and Dende."

Bulma: "Yes. What about them."

Trunks: "They're a different species, like entirely from humans and saiyans. The way they look and all."

Bulma: "Mmmhmm."

Trunks: "Well, Goten was being kind of stupid again last night, saying...things."

Bulma: "Well, he does that from time to time."

Trunks: "Heh…yeah. Well! A conversation sprouted from another and the next thing you know, Goten's asking Piccolo about them having periods."

*Bulma's cigarette falls from her mouth, hitting the floor. Followed by her laughing out loud* "Are you serious?! I could see him asking something like that too."

Trunks: "Yeah, but listen! They do have them. But Dende explained it. It's not the same as humans."

*Feeling uncomfortable about the subject, but knowing good well his mother would want to know, Trunks explained to his mother briefly what was discussed last night. But Bulma had a hard time believing the information she was given.*

Bulma: "That can't be right."

Trunks: "What? But…Why would Dende lie about that?"

Bulma: "I didn't say he did, but there's neither male or females of their species. They produce asexually. Why would they need to have a menstrual cycle if they can produce at will? That doesn't make sense."

*Trunks blinked in utter confusion* "I…I don't know. I guess that doesn't make sense. You know…I don't know. But, Dende didn't seem like he was joking any."

Bulma: "You know what. Tell them to come here."

Trunks: "Huh?!"

Bulma: "You know. With your telepathy abilities. I know you all have them!"

Trunks: "What?! Why don't you just go there yourself?!"

Bulma: "C'mon, Trunks! Please, just do it? For me? I'm hoping one of them will let me examine them too."

Trunks: "Good luck on that. If anyone of them would be willing to do it, you'd have better luck with Dende. Piccolo you'd have to knock him out with a drug or something before you'd get to see…THAT…or anything."

*Bulma laughs* "That's the truth. Dende's gentle though. I might be able to sway him into it. But get a hold of them now! Tell them to come over. Just think of something to say to get them to come here. Maybe just telling them that I need to speak to them in person may convince them enough. I don't know."

*Trunks lets out a long sigh* "Fine." *Thinking to himself* "Maybe I shouldn't of said anything. This might turn into a problem that could have been avoided too."

*A while later, Trunks manages to get in contact with Dende. Trunks tells Dende that his mother needs to speak with him in person, as well as Piccolo, and that it was very important. With a littler persuasion, Dende agrees to come to Capsule Corporation. And luckily, Dende is able to convince Piccolo to come as well.*

Piccolo: "So why does Bulma want us to come?"

Dende: "I'm not entirely sure. Trunks said she needed to speak to us in person."

*Piccolo and Dende's mind raced with thoughts, wondering what Bulma could possibly want of them. Soon they both arrive at Capsule Corporation, where Bulma is awaiting for them outside*

Bulma: "Hey you guys! Let's go to my lab, I need to talk to you guys about something rather private, okay?"

*Both of the Namekians quirked a brow. Dende tilted his head some as Piccolo looked over to Dende. All the while, they made their way to Bulma's laboratory*

Bulma: "Now guys, first off, just get comfortable. Sit down or something. You want some water?"

*They both shook their heads no*

Bulma: "Okay. Well, as you know, I'm always doing all kinds of research from mechanical, to technical, science, yada yada yada. And…anatomical type of studies, etcetera, etcetera."

*Piccolo stands up* "That's it. I'm leaving."

Bulma: "No, wait! Please. Just let me explain. I'm not going to be poking or prying any." *Thinks to herself* "Yet."

Bulma: "Okay, look. Trunks told me some things that were discussed in short last night, and he knows I'm interested in things like that. And, well... you guys are an entire different species from us. I mean, saiyans are too, but we're more biologically similar to each other than what your species are. Just look! I have two half-saiyan kids! I just want to ask some questions, okay? I had been wanting to know some things for some time, but I figured there wasn't much more to be known, but with what Trunks told me, there is; and, I really want to know, please?!"

*Piccolo and Dende just blink a few times, followed by Piccolo looking down at Dende, and Dende over to Piccolo*

Dende: "What?! Why you looking at me like that for?"

Piccolo: "You're doing the talking."

*Dende just looks at Piccolo, knowing he was serious. Dende doesn't even bother to ask Piccolo why.*

Dende: "Okay, Bulma, what is it you want to know?" *Now looking back at her*

Bulma: "Thank you so much!"

*Bulma was very excited at this point.*

Bulma: "Okay okay. I know there are no females, but obviously there are no males either, because you're capable of producing asexually. But what interests me more is that Trunks told me was Namekians menstruate? But not like us, but you have one in a different way than what we do that is."

*Piccolo's back now facing Bulma*

Dende: "Yeah?"

Bulma: "But I know you guys can have children when you WANT. So why would you need to have a menstrual cycle if you produce only when you make yourself do so."

Dende: "Come again?"

*Bulma explains herself to Dende in a different way and explains how humans produce and why they have a menses and why Namekians wouldn't need to, since they can produce at will through asexual reproduction.*

Dende: "Yeah, I understand what you're saying. Sorry for the misunderstanding. I just now realized why you're confused and I'm just thinking now. When you were saying we can have children when we want, I was thinking: "Well yeah, so can your species!" But, I know where you're getting at now."

Piccolo: "She only thinks we produce asexually, that's why."

Dende: "Yeah."

Bulma: "Only? Wait, there's another way?"

*Bulma's eyes widened.* "No way?! ...Wait."

*Bulma thought about it for a moment* "So, are Namekians like some animals that don't require breast to feed their young? You all pretty much look the same but can produce with each other, one being male and the other female, while also being able to produce asexually if you need too, like your father did, Dende?"

Dende: "Um...close. There are no males or females, remember?"

*Bulma's eyes widened more* "You're…you're hermaphrodites?!"

*Piccolo thinking to himself* "Could that woman be any louder?!"

*Dende nodded, as a sweat drop rolled down the side of his face*

*Bulma started thinking about what was down there, looking towards Dende's genital area, sweat drops rolling down her temple now too. Wondering what exactly was going on down there.*

Dende: "Uh…?"

Bulma: "Is it like…like humans when…"

Dende: "No. We're made this way. So it doesn't look at all like the way a human's does when they're born like that. In fact, you wouldn't even know."

Bulma: "Really?"

Piccolo: "We pretty much look like men."

*Dende thinking to himself* "Heh...and he told me I was to be doing ALL the talking..."

Bulma: "Like human men? With the…ehhh?" *Bulma making physical gestures* "Exactly like that?"

*Dende began to blush, laughing some, and just nodded slightly.*

Bulma: "And what about the female parts?"

Dende: "Uh…well they're there too."

Bulma: "Ehh…like?" *Bulma making more physical gestures* "Like us? Like me?!"

Piccolo: "Kami…No! Not like that!" *Piccolo now turning back around to face Bulma*

Bulma: "Than what? If not like me, than what do you have?!"

Dende: "I can't think of the word in your language. It's…it's an orifice."

Piccolo: "You would think it's an asshole if you didn't know any better, considering the fact we shi…" *interrupted by Dende*

Dende: "Hey! Um, you don't have to be so harsh about it. Eh…" *giggles uncomfortably*

Bulma: "Hold on. Piccolo, I know exactly what you were about to say. So, you can have bowel movements from there just as well?"

Dende: "Ehh!..."*sweat drops rolling down his face* "Well…if we actually eat something."

Bulma: "Wow. You guys are like giant birds, frogs, or …*she begins to giggle, looking at his antennae* "With those antennae, maybe you're just a bunch of giant slugs!"

Dende: "Huh? What…what do you mean?"

Bulma: "The word you're looking for is called a cloacae. It's a cavity that allows an animal to excrete either waste or is used for sexual reproduction. Hmm…Hey, would you be willing to give me some blood?"

*The two Namekians just remain silent and wide eyed*

Bulma: "Well, I just want to analyze it. With the physical abilities you guys possess, you might be some type of humanoid-like Pulmonata. I did a blood analysis on Vegeta, even though I was pretty convinced already that saiyans were Primates, and I was right. It wouldn't hurt, you know?"

*Dende and Piccolo just looked at each other, with sweat on their brow, thinking about the possibility of being giant slugs. They begin to speak to each other in Namekian*

Dende: "Giant slugs...?"

Piccolo: "Pfff! She's thinking we're related to some type of creature that just slowly slides around on its own bodily secretions!"

*Dende begins to look at his hands and down at himself. Reverting back to English*

Dende: "I'm a…a slug?"

Bulma: "Possibly. Look at the texture of your skin, your ability to regenerate limbs, let alone their stretching ability, the way you can reproduce, and um…hehe" *points at his antennae* "those."

Dende: "Pi…Piccolo. We're…slugs."

Piccolo: "Great. Now you've gone and freaked'em out."


	3. Chapter 3

*Bulma lets out a long sigh and giggles some*

Bulma: "Dende. It's okay. I mean, look at humans and saiyans. We're related to monkeys!"

*Snapping out of it and giggling some, Dende replies* "Now that I can believe."

*Piccolo immediately bursts out into laughter*

Bulma: "Hey! That's not very nice, Dende."

Dende: "I'm sorry!"

Bulma: "Look, are you going to let me take some blood from you or not?"

Dende: "If it will help, I guess so."

Bulma: "Great. Let me grab my things real quick."

*Bulma grabs her supplies she needs, puts a tourniquet on Dende, and tries to feel for a vein in his arm* "Okay, found it. It was kind of hard to find. You skin is so thick."

*Rubbing Dende's skin with alcohol, she waits for it to dry, followed by puncturing him with the needle to withdraw his blood* "It always interested me how your guy's blood is purple, instead of red. Now I'm going to go place this blood in the Graphene so that it can be deciphered. In the meantime, let's go hop you into a gown!"

Dende: "A…what? Wait. Who said anything about me getting into a gown?"

Bulma: "Well if you don't mind, I'd like to examine you, if that would be okay?"

Piccolo: "She wants to look at your body."

*Dende's eyes widen* "Why?!"

Bulma: "I would like to chart your anatomy. Heck, if you'd let me, I would love to examine your whole body and give you an MRI as well."

*Dende immediately crosses his legs* "I don't want an MRI!" *Thinking an MRI meant for her to examine his genitalia*

*Bulma laughs out loud* "An MRI has nothing to do with your private parts, although I would like to take a look at those also."

Dende: "WHAT?! NO WAY!"

Bulma: "Dende, it's not a big deal! I've seen plenty of naked people. It's not like I'm going to tease you or anything like that."

Piccolo: "You shouldn't listen to her. She'll run off telling everyone about you." *Piccolo responded teasingly*

Bulma: "No I won't! Shut up, Piccolo! Don't tell him that! Listen, Dende, I'm not going to hurt you in any way, physically or emotionally. Please just trust me. I'm not going to take pictures of you and flaunt them about. I'm simply going to examine you thoroughly, inside and out, chart information, and take other notes. Anything I see is going to stay in my head, okay?"

Dende: "I need a minute to think." *Dende's heart beating rapidly in his chest*

*Piccolo talking to Dende in Namekian* "You're really going to let her do it aren't you?"

Dende: "I don't know. I don't see how it could hurt any. What do you think?"

Piccolo: "Are you being serious? You know what I think. If I were to do anything for her, it would probably be the MRI."

Dende: "You know what that is?"

Piccolo: "How long have you been guardian of the Earth? You need to do more research on humans. You've should have known these things already. Yes, I know what an MRI is. I've only lived two lives here on Earth, that's a couple of hundred years!"

*Piccolo explained to Dende in short what an MRI is. All the while, Dende thought about what decision he was going to make.*

*Reverting back to English*

Dende: "Okay, I'll do it."  
Bulma: "ARE YOU SERIOUS?! Oh, this is so awesome. Thank you, thank you!"

*Piccolo to Dende* "You need me'ta hold your hand?"

Dende: "Haha, very funny. No. I'll be fine, thank you. Do you want to come with us or something?"

Piccolo: "I don't WANT to come, but I will if you want me to."

Dende: "Sure. We might learn something new. Never know."

Piccolo: "Pff…"

*Dende and Piccolo followed Bulma to a private examining room within the laboratory. There Bulma left Dende with a gown to change in to.*

Piccolo: "I can see your butt through the back."

*Dende let out a soft sigh* "Yeah, well."

*Piccolo smiled as Bulma knocks on the door* "You ready?"

Piccolo: "He was as soon as you left."

*Bulma walks in to the room. Piccolo standing with his arms crossed on Dende's right side towards the back of the examining table while Dende is sitting up*

Dende: "I have to ask, what's the point of me wearing this? If you're going to look at my body thoroughly, why not just have me with nothing on?"

Bulma: "Well, I guess you make a very good point. It's more for comfort."

Piccolo: "Awe, how sweet."

*Dende smiles* "Alright, don't start."

Bulma: "Alright, let's get started."

*Bulma starts at the top of Dende's head* "Can you guys see at night clearly? Your eyes appear to have a tapetum lucidum."

Dende: "Uhhh? I don't know what that is, but yes, we can see in the dark."

*Bulma makes her way to Dende's ears* "That's interesting. And I'm not going to ask about the hearing, because we all know the answer to that."

*Bulma continues to make her way down Dende's body, from head to toe, saving his genitalia for last*

Bulma: "Your muscle structure has some similarities to humans, but it's also different. One of these days I'm going to have to get samples of that too. Now, are you ready for the last part of the physical examination?"

Dende: "I never will be."

Bulma: "Okay, I'm going to pull out these stirrups and I'm going to need you to place your feet here in them, and bring your bottom towards the edge of the table."

*Piccolo smirks and whispers* "Ever so gently."

*Dende bursts into laughter* "Stop!"

*Piccolo grins ear to ear* "Hmph!"

Bulma: "Okay. Let's see what we got here." *lifting up Dende's gown some* "You weren't kidding, huh? You look male, and human even! Hmmm. *Continuing her examination* Listen, I'm going to do a DRE and…"

Dende: "What's that?"

Bulma: "A digital rectal exam."

*Dende's eyes widen as he thinks to himself* "Oh Kami…Why?!"

Bulma: "You're different, you know? DREs are usually done more so on men , and with women, we use a speculum. I'm going to be doing both."

Dende: "A speculum?"

Piccolo: "When we get back to the lookout, we're going straight to the library…"

Bulma: "It's for a vaginal examination. But first things first."

*Bulma gives the DRE to Dende followed by examining him with a speculum, both which were very uncomfortable* "Yep, you guys definitely have a cloacae, that's for sure."

Dende: "Please, don't make me do this again. I feel kind of violated."

*Bulma laughs some* "Agreed. Now, let's get you over to the MRI!"

Dende: "Can I at least dry off this jelly stuff."

Bulma: "Oh! Right. I'm sorry. We don't want you slipping and sliding through the MRI, now do we? You can actually put your other clothes back on too. Just, don't put anything with metal on, okay? That can cause problems."

Piccolo: "Yes, Dende. Ya'best take off that necklace Mr. Popo got you.

*Dende giggles some* "Say what?! I don't wear stuff like that. Stop messing around. What's gotten in to you anyways, Piccolo? You're being silly today."

Piccolo: "Hmm…one can only wonder. I haven't a clue."

*Dende gets himself up off of the table and cleans himself off, putting his clothes back on. Following Bulma, Piccolo and Dende make their way to the MRI*

Bulma: "Alright! Plop yourself down over hear and lay yourself straight and stay still. Here's some earplugs to help eliminate the noise."

Dende: "How long will this be?"

Bulma: "A couple of hours."

Dende: "WHAT?!"

*Bulma takes a sip of coffee* "Mmmhmm. Hold tight." *Starting the machine, Dende rolls towards the entrance.*

Dende: "A couple of hours?!"

Bulma: "Dende, just stay calm, okay?"

*Dende lets out a sigh. What else was there to do? He had agreed to do this anyways*


	4. Chapter 4

*While Dende was in the MRI, Bulma and Piccolo sat around and talked a bit about Namekian anatomy, but more about Trunk's, Goten, and Gohan's training they had been doing up on the Lookout lately*

Piccolo: "If you don't mind, I think I'm going to sleep for a short while."

Bulma: "Oh? Well, no. Are you okay?"

Piccolo: "Yeah, I've just been very tired lately."

Bulam: "Well, do you need a bed?"

Piccolo: "No, I'm fine right here."

*Bulma blinked in surprise* "Oh…okay."

*In amazement, Bulma watched Piccolo fall to sleep while sitting up. She thought it was quite strange in him doing so and knew she couldn't do it herself. Bulma wondered how anyone could do that*

*A couple of hours went by and it wasn't too long that Dende's scan had finished. Bulma made her way to the MRI machine to release Dende. Slowly Dende rolled out, his eyes shut*

Bulma: "Dende, you okay?"

*Dende mumbled some, and Bulma giggled*

Bulma: "Heh, guess those earplugs worked well. He fell asleep."

*Bulma pulled Dende's earplugs out and immediately his eyes opened, blood shot, and he sat up quickly*

Dende: "WHERE AM I?!"

*Dende was so loud, he didn't only startle Bulma, but he woke up Piccolo*

Piccolo: "What the hell?! Shut up!" *Piccolo fell back asleep*

*Bulma laughed* "Shhhh…You're here at Capsule Corp., remember? You're okay."

*Dende's heart raced* "Sorry."

Bulma: "You fell asleep there."

*Dende rubbed his eyes as he got up off the MRI table* "Yeah…"

Bulma: "Let's go see if Piccolo will let us do a scan on him too."

Dende: "Okay."

*Dende and Bulma made their way over to Piccolo*

Dende: "He's already asleep again."

*Dende hesitates at first and then speaks low and softly*

Dende: "Piccolo?"

Piccolo: "Hmm?!"  
*Piccolo's bloodshot eyes slowly raise open* "What?"

Dende: "Come lay on the MRI table."

*Piccolo just stares at Dende for a while* "What?"

Dende: "The table. You said if there was anything you would do, it would be that.

Piccolo: "Mhmm…"

Dende: "You can go back to sleep, just get up real quick and come see."

*Piccolo let out a long moaning sound as he stood up. Sounding much like a zombie, Piccolo followe them both to the MRI, laid himself down, and waits. Bulma gives Piccolo earplugs to set in his ears and gives him instructions. Starting the machine, it doesn't take long for Piccolo to fall back asleep*

Bulma: "Well, I guess his hours will go by quick too. Let's go take a look at your MRI! I bet the Graphene is done too."

Dende: "Okay."

*Both of them sat down to review the imagery. Dende and Bulma are equally amazed at what they see. Bulma's never seen the inside of a Namekian body, but neither has Dende*

Bulma: "Some things are the same as of what humans have, but there's some things that aren't. I can make out some of these organs, but others look like they're missing, or somewhere else, I don't know! I know some of the things I'm looking at, but I really don't know all that I am looking at. It's too bad we don't have a Namekian doctor here or something, you know? Well, technically you are a doctor to your people. But, you know what I mean. Do you know what organs your body consist of at least?"

Dende: "Actually, yes, I do. I've just never seen a graphic image of them like this."

Bulma: "You do?! Tell me! I need to write this stuff down!"

*Dende continues to go through the MRI images with Bulma, helping her place labels on organs, describing to her their function, and so on, passing the time*

Bulma: "Thank you so much, this is great! You know, I bet the Graphene is done too. Let's go see if you're a slug man!" *winking at Dende and smiling*

*Dende rubs his head and giggles oddly as he follows Bulma in agreement*

Bulma: "Well! Here you have it. Look at that. The test ran through everything: Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Tribe, Genus, and Species! And, surprise surprise. Guess who's a slug man?!"

*Dende, in a awkward uneasy reply* "Me…?"

Bulma: "That's right!? You!" Congratulations, you're species is probably the largest gastropods, and quite possibly the only humanoid-like type too! And considering the fact that you're a gastropod, you guys have probably existed for quite some time."

*Sweat drops roll down Dende's brow* "Yeah, well I could have told you that at least. That's something I already knew."

Bulma: "Yeah, it makes sense why you guys are more technologically advanced and all too."

*Dende nodded* "Hmm…"

Bulma: "So, that's cool. I got so much information from you guys today, I could probably write an article about your species, a study, you know?"

Dende: "Just, no pictures, please?!"

Bulma: "Oh no, I promise. Thank you again, though. I'm really glad you and Piccolo are helping me out." *smiling*

Dende: "You're welcome, and thank you too. I really don't want to be publicized like that, and I know Piccolo wouldn't want to be either. He would go crazy."

*Bulma giggled at that* "Yeah, he'd probably run around Earth trying to destroy every copy."

*Both Bulma and Dende laughed out loud*

Bulma: "Let's go back into the MRI. Piccolo's not done yet, I'm sure, but we can still see the images while they're processing."

Dende: "Alright."

*Bulma and Dende leave the room where the Graphene is and head back to the room with the MRI. Arriving in the room, they both take a seat and sit near the large monitor*

Bulma: "With Piccolo's build, things will probably look a little different. So that will be interesting, but everything will be pretty much the same."

Dende: "Yeah."

*Bulma and Dende sit back, looking at some processed images of Piccolo's skull, brain, and other features of his face. Thereafter, Bulma zooms out of the images and lets the full body scan pop back on the monitor*

Bulma: "I'll be right back, I'm going to go grab a bite to eat, smoke, and get some coffee, and I'll be right back, okay?"

*Dende just nods as he continued to watch the monitor, and Bulma makes her way out of the room, from the laboratory to the kitchen*


	5. Chapter 5

*Some time had passed since Bulma left, leaving Dende in front of the MRI monitor. He was very drawn in by it. It was almost mesmerizing to him. But something didn't look right to him. A white mass showed up on Piccolo's scans, and Dende didn't recall having the same with his. Dende could only wonder what it was that he was looking at*

Bulma: "Hey! I'm back."

*Dende jumped*

Dende: "Eh! You scared me!"

Bulma: "I'm sorry. I'm surprised with ultra sensitive hearing like yours, you didn't hear me coming. The MRI kind of pulled you in huh?

Dende: "Yeah…"

Bulma: "It does that to first timers."

*Bulma started sipping on her coffee and glanced over at Dende*

Bulma: "Are you okay?"

*Bulma's question didn't get through to Dende. He was too lost in thought. So, Bulma placed her hand over his shoulder.*

Bulma: "Dende?"

Dende: "Huh?! Oh…Sorry. What?"

Bulma: "What's the matter?"

Dende: "I don't know."

*Dende turned back toward the monitor, followed by Bulma slowly looking at the monitor too. Suddenly Bulma saw what Dende had been seeing*

Bulma: "Have you been seeing this?"  
*Dende nodded*

*Instantly Bulma pulled up Dende's scan next to Piccolo's*

Bulma: "You don't have that."

Dende: "Yeah, I noticed it too. Should I be worried? Do you think it's something bad?"

Bulma: "Well…I don't know…Hold on, let me make sure."

*Bulma continued to look at the scan and then she looked back at her charts and notes. She then turned to Dende after confirming the organ she was sure of where the mass was located*

Bulma: "It looks like the mass is residing in Piccolo's ute…"

*Bulma stopped in midsentence. Dende's eyes had widened and then a great smile filled his face. Bulma just blinked in disbelief*

Bulma: "You went from terrified to elated…Am I missing something?"

Dende: "No! You're right! That's his uterus!"

Bulma: "Um…well we're definitely going to have to see what that is."

Dende: "Look! Can't you see? It's an egg. It has to be!"

Bulma: "What?!"

*Bulma looked at the scan real close*

Bulma: "It IS shaped like an egg, isn't it?! I don't even know why I didn't think of that…I guess because the fact that it's Piccolo we're talking about, the thought didn't run across my mind. But in any case. An egg? How?! The only Namekians on Earth are Piccolo and…"

*Bulma's jaw dropped, followed by her covering up her mouth and pointing at Dende. She began to giggle some*

Bulma: "You?!"

*Dende turned beet red*

Dende: "What?!"

Bulma: "You and Piccolo?! NO. WAY.

*Hesitation*

Bulma: "NO! WAY!... I don't even know what else to say."

*Meanwhile Dende was pretty much like a deer caught in a car's headlights. He couldn't move and by this time, he didn't know what to say*  
Bulma: "How did you even manage to get him into bed?!"

*Bulma began to crack up. Embarrassing Dende even further*

Bulma: "That must have been a job in itself! Hah! I mean, you had to been the one that initiated it, huh? Cause I can't see Piccolo doing anything like that…Well, thinking about it. I can't imagine you doing anything of the sort either."

*Dende looked down to the floor, still embarrassed*

Bulma: "I'm sorry, Dende. I didn't really mean to embarrass you, let alone get into your…personal lives. I'm just surprised…VERY surprised."

Dende: "It's okay, and I guess understandable."

Bulma: "I guess things happen when only two of the same species are on a planet all alone, huh?"

Dende: "Not exactly. It's not like that at all. Piccolo…he's…there's a different side to him you guys don't know, I guess."

Bulma: "Huh? What do you mean?"

Dende: "Well, I know everything he's been through, and it's kind of messed him up in some ways. He seems like a very strong person on the outside, to everyone, but he's actually broken inside. Full of insecurity, sadness, hurt, just negative. Gohan, when Piccolo had trained him as a child, he had changed him in some ways. Gohan was his first friend. And, with that, he learned the love a friend, and Gohan is kind of like a child to Piccolo as well, or a brother. Piccolo didn't have the love of a father, a sibling, of family and friends for years. He was just made for one purpose at one time, and that's all he knew."

Bulma: "I've never heard anyone explain it that way before. I knew of some things, but just didn't know, you know what I mean? That sounds quite awful, really. Having no family or friends growing up. Just being full of hate, among other things."

Dende: "Yeah."

Bulma: "So how do you fit in all of this?"

Dende: "Oh, right. I was going to get to that. Piccolo, when I was a child, he was like a brother to me, but that changed further down the road when I had become an adult. I began to learn about his past, and I guess you can say I slowly inched my way into his...heart? Piccolo just slowly began to open up to me, and the next thing I knew, him and I could talk to each other about anything. And one thing led to another, and I saw him."

Bulma: "You saw him?"

*Dende smiled and placed his hand over his heart*

Dende: "Who he really is in here. He's very gentle and loving. I guess like all of our people are."

Bulma: "But only to you."

*Dende nodded*

Bulma: "That's so sweet… It's a start though…you know? Maybe in time he'll be SWEET to all of us!"

*Bulma smiled and Dende laughed lightly*

Dende: "Maybe so."

Bulma: "But in the meantime, looks like we might be planning a baby shower!"

Dende: "A what?! But you haven't even confirmed if he is pregnant or not!"

Bulma: "Hmph!…Having second thoughts are we? Doubts?"

Dende: "No! It's just!..."

Bulma: "Don't worry. I'll run a little blood work on him too. I hope your pregnancy hormones are similar to ours. Because if you guys don't produce hcg during your pregnancy, I don't know what our next move will be in all of this."

*With that being said, Dende nodded and sat in silence as he continued to wait for Piccolo's scan to finish. All the while, Bulma started thinking about baby shower ideas*


	6. Chapter 6

*Finally, Piccolo's MRI had finished. Bulma and Dende walked over to Piccolo as he was coming out of the machine*

Bulma: "Look at that. He's still sleeping. You know, he had mentioned being very tired lately. That's actually a symptom in human pregnancy. I guess it's one that we both share.*

Dende: "Yeah, I guess so."

Bulma: "Has he had any other symptoms? Like, have you noticed anything different with him out of the usual?"

Dende: "Come to think about it, a couple of days this week, he had gotten sick. He's actually been eating a little bit of food here and there too."

Bulma: "Emotional?"

*Dende thought about it as Bulma had pulled Piccolo's earplugs out. Immediately Piccolo's eyes opened wide, and he sat up shaken some*

Piccolo: "I'm not doing it!"

*Bulma giggles and looks at Dende*

Bulma: "Do all Namekians wake up like this?"

*Dende laughed some* "No. I guess it's just from being suddenly awakened or something."

Piccolo: "What are you two going on about now? Am I done?"

Bulma: "Well, if you don't mind…I'd like to take some blood from you."

Piccolo: "Whatever. Just hurry up so we can go."

Bulma: Okay. Well I have everything ready. It won't take long."

*Bulma did the same routine on Piccolo as she had done on Dende, all the meanwhile Piccolo's eyes began to fall shut once more*

Bulma: "Okay…Hey. Piccolo? Are you sure you're okay to fly back home."

*No response*

*Dende placed a hand on one of Piccolo's shoulders and nudged him some*

Dende: "Piccolo?"

*Immediately Piccolo's eyes burst open once more and tears filled his eyes*

Piccolo: "I just want to sleep! Leave me alone!..."

Bulma: "Well…that certainly answered the emotional question."

*Tears rolled down Piccolo's face*

Dende: "Hey. It's gonna be okay."

Bulma: "Yeah, Piccolo. You can sleep here for the night. It's actually already 10:45(pm)."

*Piccolo walked away and sat down, hunched over*

Dende: "I'll stay here with him."

Bulma: "Can you even do that?"

Dende: "What do you mean?"

Bulma: "Well, you've been away from the Lookout for some time now."

Dende: "Oh. Yeah, it will be fine. I'll let Mr. Popo know."

Bulma: "Okay. Well…C'mon Piccolo, I'll show you to a room, okay? And you can sleep there as long as you want."

*Bulma smiled as she stood next to Piccolo. Piccolo stood up and looked at her as he nodded. Following Bulma, she took him to a nearby room to sleep in. Meanwhile, Dende talked to Mr. Popo and explained to him what was going on. Mr. Popo was quite shocked of the whole matter. Piccolo, pregnant? They just didn't seem to fit together. In the back of Mr. Popo's mind, however, he remembered that Piccolo and Kami were the same. In remembering that, Mr. Popo became quickly overjoyed. There also had never been anything like this to happen at the Lookout either, so this would be the first. Things would definitely be different for sure*

*After talking to Mr. Popo, Bulma showed Dende which room Piccolo was in. Dende went to the room where he was. Looking down at him, Dende wondered if Piccolo had any clue that he was pregnant. There was so much he wanted to say to Piccolo, but now was obviously not the right time. Piccolo had almost instantly fallen asleep too. The conversation would just have to wait for another day.*

*With Piccolo asleep, Dende decided to go back out of the room for awhile. There was Bulma, still in her laboratory*

Dende: "So, you still going over everything?"

Bulma: "Well, I'm just finishing up Piccolo's blood work, and he's definitely pregnant. Luckily your bodies make the same hormone as we do. Wanna go sit and have chat or something?"

Dende: "A chat. About?"

Bulma: "I don't know. Whatever comes to mind."

Dende "Oh…okay…"

*Dende followed Bulma to a room that much like a living room, but it resided in the laboratory. There they seated themselves.*

Bulma: "I'm so excited. I have so many ideas! I can't wait to throw you all a baby shower."

Dende: "No, you don't have to do that. We really don't need it anyways."

Bulma: "Why do you say that?"

Dende: "Well, we can provide the child with clothes and everything. Isn't that what a baby shower if for? For people to help out with things like that?"

*Bulma became a little irritated at the response*

Bulma: "Right. I remember. You guys are like real life genies. You can practically make any inanimate nonliving object out of thin air. POOF!"

*Dende looked at her with a quirked brow*

Dende: "Eh…"

Bulma: "What about just celebrating a new life and all? Just getting together and having a good time. You know?"

Dende: "I…Well…That might be more up to Piccolo than me anyways."

Bulma: "Psh…it will be a surprise baby shower than."

Dende: "Heh…"

Bulma: "And the whole genie thing, that's another thing I wanted to know. How is it that you guys are able to do that anyways?"

Dende: "We're not all able to do that."

Bulma: "Well tell me than! Why and why not. I want to know."

*Dende let out a deep sigh. He felt a long night ahead of himself*

Dende: "Some of us are born with mystic-like powers, and some of us aren't. Some of us are healers, some of us are warriors, and some of us are just regular average Namekians that don't fight or heal. Just like many humans."

Bulma: "Huh…And the Dragon Balls…Where do they fit in any of this? Do you have to be a certain type of Namekian for that too?"

*Dende nodded* "You have to be from the Dragon Clan."

Bulma: "Dragon Clan? That sounds like some kind of cult or something."

Dende: "Not exactly."

Bulma: "What I don't understand is, if you guys can make objects and stuff, and can make the Dragon Balls with this huge dragon that can pretty much grant nearly any wish you want, why can't you guys do it yourselves? Why can't we just come to you and say, "Hey Dende. Bring this person back to life."

Dende: "Because, it doesn't work like that."

Bulma: "Well, explain, please?"

Dende: "Okay, let me think of an analogy."

*Both of them were silent for a short time*

Dende: "Okay. A car. You know how they have gas tanks? Well, I have a gas tank, and so does the Dragon Balls. Only the Dragon Balls have a 10 gallon tank and I have a 1 gallon tank. It's not in my entire ability to grant wishes like that, because my gas tank isn't big enough to contain that amount of mystic-like power, abilities…errr... You know? When we make the Dragon Balls, it's like taking our 1 gallon tank and filling up the 10 gallon tank, 1 gallon at a time. It's hard to explain, but that's the only analogy I can think of that could possibly make some sense. I'm trying to explain something I know how to do, but I really can't explain it entirely. I know how to do it, and I just do it. I hope I'm making some sense. Am I?"

Bulma: "Believe it or not, actually yeah. It's kind of like buying that concentrated juice at the store, and when you get home you take a little bit of it and put it in a cup and add water to the rest in a cup to drink it. The Dragon Balls are the concentrated juice, and you're the watered down cup of juice!"

*Bulma giggled some*

Dende: "Sure…I'm the watered down cup of juice. I guess as long as you understand it, in whatever way…That's all that matters."

Bulma: "Hey. I want to know some other things as well."

*Dende looks at Bulma and thinks to himself* "Here we go again…"

Bulma: "Since you know pretty much everything about Piccolo now, can you explain the whole Kami and Piccolo Daimao thing to me among a few other things?"

Dende: "Uh…okay."

Bulma: "Okay, first question. They were the same person and then at one time they split into two separate bodies, one good half, one evil. I was just wondering, how was the evil half able to have children that looked in no way at all like Namekians?"

Dende: "Okay, first off, in some way they were basically his children, but also not. They were more like genetic engineered minions more than 's just something he did through his mystic capabilities. He used his DNA to make living bodies for his own use, and he did just that. If I'm making sense, yet again. Because they came from his DNA, from his own body.

Bulma: "Well, now I know where Cell got that from."

Dende: "… In that they would be his children, but they're not Namekian fully. With his mystic powers he had, Piccolo Daimao was able to shape his offspring into whatever form he had chosen. See, with all mystic Namekians, we do not all posses the same exact abilities. But at least for him, that was one of them. "

Bulma: "But what was even the point of him changing the form of their bodies anyways?"

Dende: "Probably just to make them look more terrifying to humans? I'm not too sure, to be honest."

Bulma: "Okay…Well than, second question. What exactly is Piccolo to Piccolo Daimao? Because we all thought it was Piccolo Daimao reincarnated, but I know Piccolo had mentioned that Piccolo Daimao was his father. So, which is it?"

Dende: "Both, but I'll explain. My people are able to pass on memories to one another, to our offspring…"

Bulma: "So, Piccolo isn't really a 100% reincarnation of Piccolo Daimao?"

Dende: "No. He just has his memories and…"

Bulma: "So how is it that Piccolo and Kami's life-line became tied together?

Dende: "Piccolo Daimao took his ties with Kami and placed them between Piccolo and Kami because, we're not all guaranteed to be born a mystic, a warrior, a healer, or of the Dragon Clan. So Piccolo's father gave him that link with Kami to at least guarantee the Dragon Balls existence."

Bulma: "Oh! Got'cha."

Dende: "Piccolo is 100% of Namekian blood, compared that to Piccolo Daimao's other "children". It's just unfortunate that Piccolo got caught up in the whole mess of everything and endured all the stuff he had in his life."

Bulma: "Yeah, that's pretty awful. It's no wonder why Piccolo was pissed off at the world all those years."

Dende: "Mhmm…I'm sure having someone else's memories haunt your mind constantly would drive you mad."

Bulma: "Sounds like a classic case of Schizophrenia."

Dende: "Yeah, but he was able to overpower those thoughts. The only thing that needs work on now is his outlook on life. It was so distorted from all that had happened to him. He's definitely not where he should be, but at least he's not where he use to be."

Bulma: "Now that, I can agree to! Well… it's 11:32(pm). I'm surprised Vegeta hasn't come barging in by now, wondering where I've been. So, I think I'm gonna head to bed and we can pick up on this another time."

*Dende was relieved to hear that. He had enough questioning for one day*

Dende: "Yeah, I think I'm going to go lay down with Piccolo and try to sleep."

Bulma: "Okay…Don't get too crazy in there though!" *Bulma winks at Dende, followed by him blushing*

Dende: "That wasn't even on my mind!"

Bulma: "I'm just teasin'. G'night!"

Dende: "Good night."

*Dende thought to himself* "Dear Kami. She can be quite perverted!"

*With that thought leaving his mind, Dende made his way back to the room where Piccolo was sleeping. There he sat himself next to Piccolo. Piccolo was still out as Dende laid himself down for the night. It wouldn't be long before the sun would be coming up.*


	7. Chapter 7

*Dende couldn't get to sleep, and it wasn't long that time flew by and it was morning. 6:00(am), to be exact. Dende just laid there on his back, looking up at the ceiling. His mind was filled with so much thought. Piccolo's back was against Dende's right side. Piccolo's eyes sprung open quickly. Slowly he looked over his shoulder, finding Dende looking up at the ceiling and over to him. Piccolo rolled over to his left side and smiled*

Piccolo: "Hey…"

Dende: "Heh, hello."

*Piccolo scooted himself towards Dende, placing his body up against his own side. Piccolo placed his right arm over Dende's chest as he moved his face towards Dende to kiss him on the forehead*

Dende: "Why aren't you the same around others as you are with me?"

*Piccolo backed his face some. He didn't know what to say. He didn't understand it himself*

Dende: "There's nothing to be afraid of, you know? Just be yourself. You don't have to pretend to be who you use to be. People will adjust."

Piccolo: "I don't know why I do. I'm sorry."

Dende: "Habit?"

Piccolo: "Maybe so…"

Dende: "I guess that will have to be something we break you from than, huh?"

*Piccolo dug his face in the pillow next to Dende as he smiled. He pulled Dende closer to him and began to nudge his nose against Dende's head*

*Dende giggled* "What are you doing?"

Piccolo: "Mmmm?" *He smiled some more, baring his teeth. Slowly moving his right hand down Dende's body*

Dende: "No! We're not at the Lookout. We're at Bulma's house. We can't do that here."

*Dende thought to himself* "I guess increased sexual desire is another symptom perhaps?"

Piccolo: "Pff!"

*Piccolo laughed lightly under his breath with Dende giggling some too*

Dende: "No, I'm serious." *Dende placed his hand over Piccolo's, stopping him from going down even further*

Dende: "Self control."

Piccolo: "But…it's hard…"

Dende: "No…it's not."

Piccolo: "We can get it that way."

*Both of them burst out laughing*

Dende: "I don't think so."

*Dende sat up quickly and turned his body away from Piccolo some*

Dende: "Piccolo. In all seriousness, I need to talk to you about something."

*Piccolo placed his head in his left hand and his elbow upon the pillow*

Piccolo: "Hmm?"

Dende: "Something came up on your MRI last night. It wasn't the same as mine. And…well…"

Piccolo: "Okay…and?"

Dende: "Do you feel different? I know you've been really tired and got sick a few times this week, but do you have any idea what's going on with your body?"

*Piccolo smirked* "Do you?"

Dende: "Well yes, now I do."

Piccolo: "So, you had no idea what was going on until as of last night?"

*Dende was now lost*

Dende: "What do you mean, I had no idea until last night?"

Piccolo: "I thought you knew this whole time!"

*Piccolo continued to smile and giggled a little more. Dende now getting what Piccolo was saying*

Dende: "Why didn't you tell me?!"

Piccolo: "Can't you see?! Look at my face. It's flushed like I painted my face or something. I mean, smell me for Kami's sake! How did you not know? You knew I was ovulating this year anyways! We both knew I was ovulating before we did it that night. And we both knew that there was a chance! Are you being serious? You really had not one clue?"

*Dende felt stupid. Piccolo was right. How could he not have had at least one clue of the matter? He hadn't paid any attention whatsoever in that time span. Dende's eyes were open wide in disbelief in himself*

Dende: "I'm so sorry. I really didn't have any idea at all."

Piccolo: "It's no reason to beat yourself up over."

Dende: "Well…at least I don't have to drop any news on you. I wasn't too sure how I was going to tell you that you are pregnant."

Piccolo: "Wait. I'M PREGNANT?!"

*Dende's heart sunk into his chest, beating so fast now, as he quickly turned to Piccolo*

Dende: "Ahhh!" *Dende thought to himself* "GREAT! WHAT A WONDERFUL WAY TO TELL HIM!"

*Piccolo broke out into loud laughter*

*Dende now shaking* "What's so funny?!"

Piccolo: "Ohh…my…KAMI!"

*By this time now, Dende was standing up. Piccolo soon following, placed his right hand over Dende's shoulder. Piccolo continued to laugh as he wrapped his arms around Dende and pulled him towards himself, tears now filling his eyes*

*Dende now realizing Piccolo is just messing around once more*

Dende: "So I take it that increased sense of humor is another pregnancy symptom?"

*Piccolo's knees are now becoming a little weak*

Piccolo: "I...I don't know...I'm….I'm so sorry…I…ehhh…I had too…"

Dende: "Riiiiighttt….I love you too."

*Dende placed his hands on Piccolo's hips as he took a step back from him and looked up*

Dende: "Finished?"

*Piccolo nodded*

Dende: "M'kay. Let's get going."

Piccolo: "Wait…You think Bulma is cooking breakfast?"

*Dende palmfaces and let out a sigh as his hand falls off of his face*

Dende: "Okay, breakfast it is. Let's go see."

*Piccolo and Dende make their ways out of the room and laboratory*

Piccolo: "Mmmm….Smells so good, and…I'm so hungry…but kind of nauseated too."

*Dende just looked over at Piccolo and smiled as they made their way to the kitchen*


	8. Chapter 8

*Both Dende and Piccolo walked into the Kitchen. There was Bulma, cooking breakfast at the stove, and then there was Vegeta, sitting at the table. They both stopped at the entrance of the kitchen, and Vegeta looked up.*

Vegeta: "Quick! Woman. Pass me the salt! Two slugs just made their way into the kitchen!"

Bulma: "Vegeta! That's not VERY NICE!"

*Vegeta just cracked up while they all just stood around, looking at him*

Bulma: "Sorry, you guys. You'll have to excuse my husband. You know how he can be…an obnoxious ass."

Vegeta: "Are you about done with that food already?!"

Bulma: "Yes! I am!"

*Bulma throws some plates of food down in front of Vegeta. Followed by him shoving the food in his face. Like a typical saiyan*

Bulma: "Well, come sit at the table guys."

Vegeta: "No, don't even think about it. I'm not about to have my breakfast shared with a couple of SLUGS!"

*Vegeta smirked*

*Dende replied calmly* "Yeah? Well, if I wanted to have breakfast with a monkey, I'd go to the zoo."

*Piccolo looked over at Dende with his eyes bugged out. He couldn't believe what just came out of Dende's mouth. Bulma could only laugh. And surprisingly, Vegeta didn't get angry at the comment. He was actually surprised.*

Vegeta: "It's about time you grew some balls. Hah!"

Bulma: "Don't worry about Vegeta. He barks more than he bites. Just sit down."

*Dende pulled out a seat for Piccolo and himself, and they both sat down*

Bulma: "So. What would you two like to eat?"

Piccolo: "Everything."

*Piccolo smiled and Dende chuckled under his breath*

Vegeta: "Well, you can't have everything, because that's what I'm having. How about nothing?"

Bulma: "Shut up, Vegeta."

*Vegeta just laughed lightly*

Dende: "I don't want anything to eat. Thank you. I'll just take some water."

*Dende thought to himself* "I hope it doesn't take long for Piccolo to eat. I don't want to rush him any, but I can't stand to be around Vegeta sometimes…"

Bulma: "Here you go. I have for you some fruit on the side and here's some pancakes, bacon, and eggs."

*Bulma smiled but Piccolo and Dende just looked at the eggs on the plate. You could tell that Piccolo was becoming more nauseated and emotional too. Bulma looked at them both and noticed something was wrong*

Bulma: "What's wrong?

*Bulma looked at the plate and quickly she realized the mistake she made*

Bulma: "I'm so sorry! Vegeta! Take this plate! I'll make you a new plate without the eggs Piccolo. It skipped my mind."

*Bulma felt quite awful, and Vegeta quickly caught on to what had happened*

Vegeta: "Awe, what's wrong, Piccolo? Can't stand to eat all these delicious babies? Mmm!"

Bulma: "VEGETA!*

Piccolo: "Where's your bathroom?"

Bulma: "Just…out here. It's the first door on your ri…."

*Piccolo got up and ran to the bathroom, all the while Bulma smacked Vegeta up beside the back of his head*

Bulma: "You're cut off! Keep being a jerk! See what happens!"

*Vegeta leaned in towards Dende and whispered knowing good and well he would hear him, thinking Bulma wouldn't*

Vegeta: "She thinks cutting me off means something to me. But I can tell you this. It don't mean a thing to me. What did that woman think I was doing before I met her? I didn't have the time of day to screw anything in sight."

*Suddenly a loud thud filled the room as a large frying pan collided with Vegeta's head*

Bulma: "Who said ANYTHING about sex? I'm not cooking for you for an entire WEEK!"

Vegeta: "WHAT?! You…YOU CAN'T DO THAT!"

Bulma: "WATCH ME! You don't think I know you. That I don't know you saiyan MEN. Please. Cut you off from sex... I know what to cut you off from. Try me!"

Vegeta: "DAMMIT!"

Bulma: "I warned you…Now LEAVE!"

Vegeta: "BUT!...FINE! I'M GOING TO GO TRAIN OUTSIDE!"

*Vegeta stomps off*

Bulma: "Woooo….so scared. Gonna go train outside he says… Prince of all saiyans. Pff!"

*Dende held himself back from laughing aloud, but he couldn't help but wonder if Piccolo was okay*

Dende: "I'll be right back.*

*Making his way to the bathroom. Dende stopped in front of door and knocked*

Dende: "Piccolo? You okay?"

*In a sickly low reply* "You can come in…"

*There was Piccolo in front of the porcelain throne, with his head right in the middle on the seat. Soon after, Bulma came in, standing in the doorway, Dende rubbing Piccolo's back*

Bulma: "You gonna be okay? Vegeta's gone now, if you want to come eat some breakfast."

Piccolo: "Oh…kay."

Dende: "You feeling better?"

Piccolo: "Yeah…"

*All three of them returned to the kitchen. Piccolo and Dende sat back down at the table and Bulma started from scratch and remade Piccolo new plates of food, without eggs*

Bulma: "So Piccolo. How do you feel about having a get together? All of us at the Lookout, or here or something?"

Piccolo: "Why are you asking me if I care about getting together or not?"

Bulma: "Well, I was thinking about doing it soon, but I just didn't know how you would feel, being pregnant and all."

Piccolo: "Like that would even stop you."

*Bulma smiled at that* "When did you get to know me so well?"

Piccolo: "Hmph! Right."

Bulma: "Okay, well, I'm going to do a little planning and I'll let you guys know when it is and all. Okay?"

*Piccolo continued to eat and finish up his food while Dende waited patiently*

Piccolo: "Not to be rude and up and leave so fast, but I'm ready to go."

Bulma: "That's no problem. I understand."

Dende: "Thank you for letting us stay the night, and for breakfast."

Bulma: "You're very welcome! But, I'm the one who should be thank you, again. I'm very happy you all came by yesterday and let me do some research on ya. It's very much appreciated. Really!"

*Dende nodded and Piccolo just stared with a blank emotionless face*

Dende: "Okay, well… We'll see you again."

Bulma: "Okay, take care you two!"

*Dende and Piccolo made their way out of the kitchen and Capsule Corporation entirely. They finally both took off towards the Lookout, where Mr. Popo was awaiting their return*


	9. Chapter 9

*There was Mr. Popo standing outside of the Lookout. He could sense the two Namekians making their way back. Mr. Popo was still overjoyed. He couldn't wait to see them, let alone for the baby to be born already. Eventually, Piccolo and Dende arrived at the Lookout, Mr. Popo smiling to greet them*

Mr. Popo: "Welcome back!"

Dende: "Yes, we're back!"

Piccolo: "Finally. I couldn't take being there any longer."

Dende: "Yeah…you and me both."

Mr. Popo: "Not a pleasant visit, I take it?"

Piccolo: "Hmph!"

Dende: "Not entirely. It was a bit uncomfortable last night, just helping Bulma out with what she wanted. But that wasn't the worst of it. It was just earlier…with Vegeta."

Piccolo: "Sometimes I'd just like to choke him to death." *Piccolo hissed*

Mr. Popo: "Oh…my. What happened this time?"

Dende: "What didn't happen? It was Vegeta. Half the time he just doesn't have anything nice to say. This morning was a bit of that, and then Bulma accidentally served Piccolo a plate of eggs, which with that and Vegeta's nasty comment, sent Piccolo running to the bathroom."

Mr. Popo: "Still getting sick? He's been like that all week."

Dende: "Oh, so you've noticed?"

*Mr. Popo smiled* "Of course. But we know now it's with good reason."

*Dende smiled too, but Piccolo just walked off aggravated*

Mr. Popo: "Is he?"

Dende: "He'll be fine."

*Piccolo made his way to one of the palm trees and sat himself down. He didn't know what to do with himself at this point. Even meditating didn't seem too pleasing to him at this time.*

Mr. Popo: "Maybe I should leave you two alone." *Mr. Popo trying to leave a hint to Dende* "I'm going to go back towards the garden for a while. Water some of the plants."

Dende: "Okay."

*As Mr. Popo made his way towards the back of the Lookout, Dende made his way to Piccolo and sat next to him*

Dende: "How are you feeling?"

Piccolo: "You're not going to be asking me that every half hour are you?"

*Dende realizing Piccolo was on edge a little*

Dende: "I'm sorry. I can just tell that something's going on and I figured it would be a good opportunity to talk about it is all."

Piccolo: "Look, don't treat me like I need to be babied or anything like that now. I'm just pregnant. It's nothing special, nor a big deal. Okay?"

Dende: "What are you talking about? Of course it's special, and it is a big deal…to me."

*A small smile lifted from Dende's face. Piccolo just stared at him, trying not to smile also.*

*Piccolo began to giggle under his breath* "Stop."

Dende: "I'm not doing anything. I'm just being honest."

Piccolo: "Well, I guess we can both agree than, that it's because of your honesty is why I'm pregnant in the first place."

Dende: "Huh?"

Piccolo: "I said, YOU being honest is what got me this way. Talking to me all the time, telling me your FEELINGS, "Oh, Piccolo…I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! Oh Piccolo, WOOOOO…!", and I fell for it. I just let you poke your way in. And not just into my HEART!...by the way…"

*Dende started laughing, which made Piccolo start to giggle a little too* "You make me sound like some crazed sex villain or something!"

Piccolo: "You are. Why did you do this to me?"

Dende: "What are you talking about? You told me yourself you wouldn't mind having children, but that you were just scared is all. We both actually wanted this...So, where is this all coming from?"

*Piccolo just shook his head in a no manner* "I…don't…know…" *He replied in a whiny voice as a tear started to run down his face."

*Dende's eyes widened as he thought to himself* "Dear Kami. He's an emotional wreck. One minute he's happy, then he's hungry, then throwing up and disgusted, irritated, and now he's balling his eyes out!"

Piccolo: "Why are you looking at me like that for?!"

Dende: "Shh…"

Piccolo: "Don't shush me, dammit!" *lightly slapping Dende on his arm with the back of his fist*

Dende: "Yow! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to shush you. I was just trying…"

Piccolo: "Answer me!"

Dende: "OKAY!" *there was silence for a couple of seconds, and by that time, Piccolo was getting mad*

Dende: "I'm just surprised and overwhelmed by everything. And…"

Piccolo: "AND?!"

*Dende broke down and started crying lightly. Dende was not only overwhelmed, but now terrified. Piccolo placed his hand over Dende to try and ease him, although Piccolo was still aggravated*

Dende: "Just the emotions you've ran through within the past 24 hours. I'm just overwhelmed."

*Piccolo looked away. He felt bad for Dende. Piccolo never wanted to hurt him in any way*

Piccolo: "I'm…sorry."

*Dende sat up and looked at Piccolo, Piccolo looking back at him*

Dende: "No, it's okay…It will be worth it all. You know?"

*Piccolo shook his head* "Maybe this was a mistake…"

Dende: "Don't say that. You know, from how Bulma was talking, I guess this is normal. It's not a mistake. What you're going through isn't going to last forever. Just try to think about all the positive that will come from it."

Piccolo: "Yeah, maybe." *Piccolo shed a tear with a light smile on his face*

*A few minutes of silence took place before Dende responded*

Dende: "Feeling better now?"

*Piccolo looked down briefly and then he stared at Dende for a moment*

Piccolo: "Actually…even though my emotions have been up and down all this morning so far, I've been aroused the entire time. And then when you smart mouthed off to Vegeta, I felt like just ripping your clothes off right there."

*Dende's eyes almost popped out of his skull, followed by him bursting out into loud laughter. The crazy part was, Dende knew Piccolo was being serious. He's always been bold like that, but this was by far the boldest he's been*


	10. Chapter 10

*A few hours had passed and the two Namekians had made their way to their room. Lying upon their bed, Dende laid there on his stomach, spread partially atop on Piccolo's body and partially off. Dende's right arm ran over Piccolo's abdomen, with his head on Piccolo's shoulder. Both of their eyes were shut as they both laid there with soft smiles upon their face. Both of them speaking softly to each other*

Dende: "You know, a couple of hours ago…"

Piccolo: "Mmm?"

Dende: "I'm use to you being bold, but not like that."

Piccolo: "Heh…yeah…Sorry'bout that. I don't know what that was about. Maybe Kami's trying to take over my body or something."

Dende: "Pfff…Kami trying to take over your body? Okay."

Piccolo: "Hormones?"

Dende: "Maybe…Definitely out of character for sure."

Piccolo: "Hmm…"

*There was a brief moment of silence*

Piccolo: "You know how you said I should basically just…I don't know…Just be like this with everyone else, like how I am with you?"

Dende: "Mhmm."

Piccolo: "I don't know if I could do that."

Dende: "Why's that?"

Piccolo: "I just don't know if that would be the best thing to do. I think it would just be awkward for both them and I. Next thing you know, someone's going to walk up'ta you and ask, "Dende…did you drug Piccolo or something?" I can't just wake up one day and make the decision to be totally different around everyone. Gohan would probably have a heart attack himself."

Dende: "Yeah…I mean. At first it might be weird. But, like I said, they'd just have to adjust to you is all, like I had with you, and you to me. But right now, even if you do make that decision to do so…Well…you're not yourself right now. Not even between the two of us alone.

Piccolo: "So, if I decide to be a little more nice, like I am with you, are you suggesting I wait until after the pregnancy is through to do so?"

Dende: "Perhaps. And you know, I'm sure everyone will like you just the same. Besides, you're quite the comedian sometimes."

Piccolo: "A comedian? Like those idiots that stand on a stage and try to tell jokes?"

*Dende laughed some* "Not exactly. You have a sense of humor is all. You're just good at making me laugh, and I'm sure others would have a good laugh too."

Piccolo: "A comedian…pff."

*Both Dende and Piccolo continued to lie on the bed for some time. Following after, Piccolo sat up and glanced over at Dende*

Piccolo: "Wanna bathe or something?"

Dende: "What's the something?"

*Piccolo and Dende both smiled*

Piccolo: "Well? I'm going. Do whatever you'd like. Lie around or whatever."

*Dende sat up* "No, I'm coming. I'm coming."

Piccolo: "Why do I get the feeling I've heard that before. Sounds familiar." *Piccolo muttered under his breath, teasingly, as he walked towards the bathroom*

Dende: "Hey! I heard that! If I didn't know any better, I'd think you've been hanging out with Bulma or something."

Piccolo: "Hah! I'm just messin. Why you say that though?"

Dende: "You haven't noticed some of the things she says from time to time?" *Dende now getting up to follow Piccolo in the bathroom. Piccolo already turning the showers on and getting in*

Piccolo: "Yeah…heh. I know exactly what you're saying."

*The two Namekians proceeded into the shower to clean themselves up. Eventually some time passed as they were showering. Piccolo exiting first. He just wanted to get in and get cleaned, and then get out. All the meanwhile, Dende sat down and relaxed some while he was in*

*Piccolo got dressed and sat himself down on a bench next to a window. He looked out and down upon the garden of the Lookout. In the distance, Piccolo could see Mr. Popo still in the garden, as usual. The garden was filled with all types of luscious flowers and plants. It was quite relaxing to Piccolo as he gazed upon it*

Dende: "Piccolo?"

*There was no answer at first. The garden had put Piccolo in some sort of a trance*

Dende: "Piccolo?"

Piccolo: "Hmm?!" *Quickly Piccolo snapped out of it* "What?"

Dende: "When do you think the baby will be born?"

Piccolo: "I'm sure some time after I give birth to the egg. Why?"

*Piccolo smirked in hearing Dende's laughter in response to answering his question*

Dende: "Well, when do you think you'll be giving birth to the egg?"

*Piccolo let out a sigh* "Dende. I have no clue when that will be. I mean, we both have an idea, but to what exact day and hour, I don't know."

Dende: "Oh…I just figured I'd give it a shot and ask." *Dende now turning off the showers*

*Stepping out of the showers, Dende grabbed himself a towel to dry off, and got dressed thereafter*

Piccolo: "It won't be too long, that's for sure."

Dende: "Yeah…"

*A small pause*

Dende: "Imagine if the development of the egg was as fast as reproducing asexually. You'd practically have to roll out of bed after the act and just give birth right there!"

*Piccolo looked at Dende* "Yeah, it doesn't sound too satisfying if you asked me."

*Dende laughed some. He was trying to lift the mood in the room*

Dende: "And what if we ovulated like humans too?"

*Piccolo's eyes widened and his brows rose* "There would be a lot of children running around I'm sure."

Dende: "Yeah…"

Piccolo: "So…is that it? You done?"

Dende: "What do you mean?"

*Piccolo stood up and walked past Dende, back towards the room*

Piccolo: "You done talking?"

*Dende got the hint. Piccolo didn't care to talk anymore, but that was Piccolo. And Dende couldn't help but follow Piccolo around like a lost puppy either. It drove Piccolo nuts sometimes too*

Piccolo: "When is some of your family coming over here for training anyways. Aren't they supposed to be coming in a few weeks or something?"

Dende: "Oh, for healing? Yeah. They're going to be coming around to train for that. Goku's suppose to go get them and bring them here."

Piccolo: "When exactly?"

Dende: " Not for another two weeks."

Piccolo: "That might be around the same time I'll be going."

Dende: "Oh? Where are you going to?"

*Piccolo quirked a brow at Dende*

Dende: "Oh…OH! I guess... I'll just have to keep my ears clean and listen closely than."

Piccolo: "Keep your ears clean and listen closely. What do you mean?"

Dende: "For me to hear you yell out, DENDE!"

*Dende finally got Piccolo to laugh some*

Piccolo: "Yeah, I guess so…"

*Another pause*

Piccolo: "Listen though. I'm going to go sit out in the garden and relax."

Dende: "Okay."

Piccolo: "But you. Go the library."

*Dende laughed again* "You were being serious huh?"

Piccolo: "Were you being serious when you asked what a speculum was?"

Dende: "Yeah, you're right. I probably should go."

*Piccolo raised a brow once more and nodded at Dende. With that, they both went their separate ways. Dende headed towards the library, while Piccolo made his way towards the garden outside*


	11. Chapter 11

*A week's time had passed over Earth. The weather had been sunny, with only a couple of rainy days. Piccolo missed the scenery. Since he had become pregnant, Piccolo didn't venture too far from Dende, which meant him being stuck at the Lookout.*

*Piccolo was sitting in the garden with his mind clear, and all around was somewhat still. By this time Piccolo's abdomen had grown more, and he could no longer stand to wear his traditional gi. He now favored a looser gi, especially his shirt, which had longer sleeves. Piccolo didn't even bother to wear a sash anymore either, or his weighted shoulder gear and turban. Piccolo now preferred wearing a light soft cloth wrapped around his head, and tied to the back*

*Piccolo looked down at his stomach in awe, placing his hands atop it. He couldn't believe that there was a life forming inside of his own body. Even though the baby had not taken much of a form, but was still only much of a yolk, Piccolo could sense its life's energy. It was so small and fragile, but it was there, and that brought a smile to his face.*

Dende: "Hey!"

*Piccolo's ears twitched and he could hear it from far away, but it was coming in fast. It was Bulma in some type of vehicle, and it was large. Piccolo could only imagine what was inside*

*Piccolo looked over to Mr. Popo, who had stopped watering the plants to look afar where Bulma was landing*

Piccolo: "Looks like Bulma's bringing that so called "Get Together" up here."

Mr. Popo: "Get Together? Hmm…As I recall, Dende had told me that she was bringing everyone here to throw a you a baby shower…"

*Piccolo just looked at Mr. Popo with a shocked-like irritated look on his face* "What?!"

Mr. Popo: "I MEAN! Oh…Kami." *Mr. Popo facepalm*

Piccolo: "Why didn't either one of you tell me?!"

Mr. Popo: "It was suppose to be surprise…"

Piccolo: "Oh…right…a SURPRISE!"

*Piccolo quickly stood up and walked his way over towards Dende*

Piccolo: "What the HELL is this?! When were you going to tell me about this BABY SHOWER?!"

*Dende knew he was in for it. His heart had dropped yet another time within this past week*

Dende: "I'm…sorry…It was…suppose to be a…"

Piccolo: "SURPRISE?! Yeah…right. I don't want any part of it, ya'got it?"

*Gritting his teeth* "After they leave, your ass is mine…"

*Dende's heart was racing fast and he was nearly hyperventilating. Dende's last hope would be for that to mean he was getting it rough later, but that was unlikely*

*Dende's thoughts were racing, all the while Bulma was getting out of the vehicle just as well as letting the others out, and Piccolo was walking away into the sanctuary*

Dende: "By the Gods…please help me…"

*Suddenly everyone's saying their hellos to Dende, all the while sweat drops are rolling down his face*

Yamcha: "Dude, you okay?"

Gohan: "Yeah Dende, you look sick. What's up?"

*Dende nodded his head in a no answer*

Bulma: "It's Piccolo, isn't it? You told him?"

Dende: "No, but somehow he knows!"

*Mr. Popo made his way towards the crowd*

Mr. Popo: "Kami, please forgive me! It slipped. It's my fault!"

*Everyone just looked at Mr. Popo. Bulma rubbed her forehead*

Bulma: "Hmm…well. There's nothing we can do now…"

Dende: "WHY DID YOU DO THAT?! HE'S GONNA KILL ME LATER!"

Mr. Popo: "I'm sorry!"

*Dende was shaking. While a few others were giggling under their breath*

Bulma: "Come now, Dende. You know Piccolo's not going to kill you. You're the father of his child. He LOVES you." *Bulma winked*

Yamcha: "Yeah right. Piccolo's like a female praying mantis. He's so going to cut your head off, Dende."

Bulma: "YAMCHA! NO HE'S NOT!"

*Everyone was laughing except Bulma, Dende, and Mr. Popo*

*Dende was feeling quite nauseous*

Chi Chi: "Well, there are plenty of times I've gotten really mad at Goku, and I never killed him, let alone cut off his head."

*Krillin whispers to Gohan* "Yeah right. Your mom's never gotten mad and killed Goku because that's just her normal state."

*Suddenly Chi Chi's fist came flying into Krillin's head, and Gohan had been giggling before hand, but only now he stopped and rubbed his own head some. He didn't want to be next*

*18 just stared down at Krillin. 18 supposed he deserved it, so she took no action towards Chi Chi*

Chi Chi: "Now…I hope the rest of the evening will go by quite nicely, so long as Krillin keeps his mouth shut. And no one else better say anything stupid either!"

*All the men looked at Chi Chi and just nodded*

*Mr. Popo still shooken up* "Would…would everyone like to go in or will this be taking place outside?"

Bulma: "Outside if fine...Alright guys, go grab the tables, chairs, and other equipment. We'll bring out the food and gifts!"

*Vegeta turned around and walked the opposite way*

Bulma: "HEY! Where do you think YOU'RE going?!"

Vegeta: "The other way! I didn't even want to come to this stupid baby shower!"

Bulma: "Get back here right now!"

Vegeta: "NO!"

Bulma: "VEGETA!"

*Bulma stomped the ground. She was furious*

Goku: "Hey, Vegeta. Wait up!"

Chi Chi: "GOKU!"

*Goku stopped dead in his tracks*

Chi Chi: "Don't take a step further. Get back here and help unpack. THAN you can go play."

Goku: "YES CHI CHI!"

Bulma: "Boy...I wish I could get Vegeta to listen better like that. I have to literally take things away from him, food usually, but I already did that this week…"

*Chi Chi just looked at Bulma* "Hmm…I'm going to go get some of the snacks."

Bulma: "Right…I'll go get the gifts."

*Videl waved over to the Pan, Marron, and Bra. They were huddled together chatting, like typical teen girls. Of course Marron was now twenty-three, but she still clicked with the sweet sixteens.*

Videl: "Hey, girls! We're not getting any younger. Can you come help, please?"

*Immediately the three girls followed Videl to come help*

*While everyone was setting things up for the baby shower, Piccolo still remained inside. He was ticked off still*

*Mr. Popo was helping everyone also, but Dende decided to have a look and see how Piccolo was doing*

Bulma: "Going to go get Piccolo?"

Dende: "Yeah, I'll be back. Hopefully him too."

*Making his way inside, Dende knew where to look for Piccolo. Piccolo was up on the balcony that was connected to their room. There was Piccolo as always, looking down into the garden*

Piccolo: "Why is everyone doing this?"

Dende: "Because they care about you. They're your friends…"

Piccolo: "Humans are ridiculous!"

*Piccolo quickly turned around to face Dende*

Piccolo: "What's the point in all of this anyways? It's not as if we can't provide for our own!"

Dende: "Believe it or not, I kind of said the same thing to Bulma. And…it actually upsetted her."

Piccolo: "So what! You can't put your foot down and say, NO?!"

Dende: "Well she mentioned the party wasn't just about giving, but also about celebrating a new life. Why wouldn't you want to do that? We've been to a couple of Get Together parties that Bulma's thrown before and it never bothered you. In fact, you looked like you always enjoyed yourself. What's the difference now?"

*Piccolo looked at Dende with an irritated look on his face still*

Piccolo: "I just don't want to go, okay?"

Dende: "Is it because you're stomach is bigger? Because it's no big deal. Everyone knows your pregnant."

Piccolo: "JUST LEAVE!"

*Dende looked at Piccolo. He was quite disappointed in him. Dende had at one time felt like he had made so much progress with Piccolo all these years, but now he was doubting himself*

*Dende just shook his head, turned around, and began to walk way. He then stopped and began to go over everything. Piccolo thought the whole situation was ridiculous, and Dende thought Piccolo was being ridiculous. Pregnancy hormones or not, he didn't need to act this way. The more Dende thought about it, the more he became angry*

*Standing in the archway of the balcony, Dende's back was still turned to Piccolo. Dende was just burning up inside, and he wasn't even terrified anymore. Dende felt like he was just going to explode, and that wasn't like him* "You know…you're a coward."

*Piccolo was looking back down at the garden at this point. His eyes widened and he clenched his teeth at that remark as he turned his head towards Dende* "What did you say?"

*Dende slowly turned around to Piccolo* "You think you're so tough. You put up this front. It's like you're hiding behind this mask. You're one person when it's just you and I, and then when other people are around, you're somebody else. In fact sometimes you mistreat me too. Maybe I'm not as strong and can fight like you, but at least I'm not afraid to be me. To express my friendship, my love, and kindness to others. If you want to sit up here and sulk all day and be a coward, than fine! You're only embarrassing yourself in doing so. You're missing out on so much of what the world has to offer, not me. And I'm not going to take this anymore. I'm not going to allow you to pull me down to your level, to pity you, to be at your every beckon need. This is ridiculous!"

*By this time, Piccolo went from being angry to heart broken. Dende's words really shot right through him. Piccolo didn't know what to say or what to do. He was just frozen with hurt. Piccolo could only acknowledge that Dende was right. Dende's words were confirmation to Piccolo, that he had been selfish during this whole pregnancy*

*Dende looked at Piccolo, and he saw that his words had made an impact. Deep in his heart Dende felt kind of bad, but he was getting a little tired of Piccolo's attitude. He was also getting tired of Piccolo mistreating him. Piccolo never really had done Dende like this before, why does him being pregnant make it any different? Dende could give Piccolo the benefit of the doubt. After all, he had never been pregnant himself. But Dende had made up his mind and wasn't going to accept Piccolo's attitude any longer. Dende just turned his back towards Piccolo, and began to walk off*

Piccolo: "Wait…"

*Dende was by the door now, stopping to turn around*

Piccolo: "You're right…I'm…I've been selfish."

*Dende looked at Piccolo. There was a small hesitation*

Piccolo: "I'm sorry…for…just… everything."

Dende: "Everything?" *the words escaped from his lips low and softly*

*Piccolo let out a deep sigh* "Perhaps I am a coward. And you…"

*Piccolo's voice became full with emotion, a sound of sadness* "You don't deserve that. I know I've been very rough on you as of lately. I…"

*Dende let out a deep breath*

Dende: "…Piccolo. I've never been pregnant, so I cannot understand what you're going through. But in any case, no matter how you feel, that doesn't mean you have to act that way. You don't have to act the way you feel. And for at least the child's sake, I would hope you can learn that, between now and when the baby does arrive."

*Dende takes in a deep breath*

Dende: "I am getting tired of the way you have been treating me, but I've been able to deal with it, just like I am able to deal with Vegeta's attitude whenever he's around! And yes, you are right. I don't deserve that. But like I was saying, I hope you do learn to change that aspect of you before the baby arrives, because I'm not going to have it. I'm not going to let you act that way in front of him or treat him like you have been treating me."

*Piccolo was in shock from what he was hearing. Dende was finally putting his foot down for once. In a way it also made Piccolo proud of Dende too.*

*Piccolo nodded and a small smile lifted upon his face. Dende wasn't too sure why Piccolo was smiling after what he had just said to him. Dende could only blink in reaction as Piccolo stood up and made his way over to Dende. Piccolo tightly wrapped his arms around Dende and embraced him, and at first Dende just stood there in surprise. But in following Piccolo, Dende did the same. And Dende could sense that Piccolo was terrified, but that was okay. Although Piccolo was this big "tough guy", he was still only a man himself*

*Piccolo shed a couple of tears*

Piccolo: "Will you at least stay by my side if I come down?"

*Dende grinned ear to ear baring his teeth as he pulled his head back from Piccolo's shoulder and placed his head against Piccolo's so that he was now looking at him. *

*Dende softly replied* "I'll always stay by your side."


	12. Chapter 12

*Both of the Namekians released their grip from each other and took a step back. Dende turned to grab the handle of the door, but Piccolo grabbed him by the forearm*

Dende: "Hmm?"

Piccolo: "You know, they're probably still setting things up."

Dende: "Yeah...Why you say that?"

*Dende thought to himself* "He can't possibly be thinking about doing THAT right now at this time, is he?"

Piccolo: "I just wanted to..."

*Suddenly loud knocking came from the door*

Bra: "Hello?"

*Dende opened the door* "Yes?"

Bra: "Mom sent me up here. You guys coming down or what?"

Dende: "Yeah, we were actually just getting ready to come down."

*Bra scanned them both* "You two weren't…doing IT…were you?"

*Both of the Namekian's became wide eyed in disbelief of what they had been asked. Dende laughed awkwardly*

Dende: "No…"

Bra: "Hmm…"

*Bra turned her back on the two. She was 16 and reminded them both of her mother, although Bra took after Vegeta some too*

Bra: "Well…come on then."

*The two Namekians proceeded out of the room and followed Bra down stairs. Making their way outside, they came to find that everything had been set up, and there was Krillin singing. Quickly Piccolo and Dende made themselves earplugs to put in their ears. Not only was the sound too much for them sometimes, but Krillin wasn't the greatest singer*

Bulma: "Hey you guys! Welcome back."

Gohan: "Hey Piccolo. Long time no see!"

Piccolo: "I just saw you last week."

*They all laughed*

Gohan: "I know it's only been a week, but how have things been? I know things go by a lot quicker for you guys." *looking at Piccolo's stomach in referral*

Piccolo: "Yeah…I've been okay. I'm starting to get uncomfortable though."

Gohan: "I hear ya! The closer Videl got to having Pan, the more uncomfortable she got too."

*Piccolo nodded in acknowledgement* "I'm going to have a seat."

*Dende and Gohan smiled as Piccolo waddled his way to a chair. Gohan giggled lightly. He had remembered how Videl use to walk like that when she was pregnant too*

Piccolo: "What are you going on about now? What's so funny?"

*Dende and Gohan had followed Piccolo, but the two remained standing*

Gohan: "You."

Piccolo: "What about me?"

Gohan: "Just reminding me more of Videl when she was pregnant."

Piccolo: "What? About me being uncomfortable? Why is that funny?" *Piccolo replied in a stern voice*

*Gohan and Dende looked at Piccolo, blinking some*

Piccolo: "Does it amuse you to see me in pain?!"

*Gohan laughed a little as sweat drops appeared on his face* "No! I don't think it's funny to see you in pain! I thought it was just...uh...cute. At the way you were walking! It's like a waddle…Like a penguin." *Gohan felt a bit uneasy now*

*Piccolo thought to himself* "Cute?! What the..."

*Piccolo responded, mouthing off* "Well yeah, Gohan. I have an egg about this size, *showing with his hands*, sitting on my pelvis. You'd be in pain and walking funny too!"

*Dende laughed, and Gohan giggled a little. He was still sweating some*

Gohan: "Yeah, I guess you're right. Sorry."

*Finally, Krillin finished up his song, making Bra next up in line to sing a round of karaoke. The others sat around for the karaoke, and Marron and Pan chatted a little. Meanwhile, Goku and Vegeta were sparing on the far end of the Lookout*

*Bulma made her way over to Piccolo*

Bulma: "Hey, Piccolo. I'm glad you decided to come out here with us. I haven't seen you since last week. How ya been?"

"Another, "How have you been?" question?!" *Piccolo thought to himself*

Piccolo: "Fine."

Bulma: "I bet you're excited!"

Piccolo: "Excited? About what?" *He looked at her like she was crazy.*

Bulma: "About the baby! Each day you're getting closer until he arrives! What did you think I was referring to?"

Piccolo: "I thought you might have been referring to this party. Because in all honesty, no I'm not too thrilled about it." *He responded harshly, but in a calm manner*

*Bulma blinked at Piccolo's response, and Dende placed his hand on Piccolo's back* "Piccolo…"

Piccolo: "What?"

*Dende just looked at him*

*Bulma figured Piccolo wouldn't have liked the whole baby shower idea anyways, so she ignored his comment and changed the subject*

Bulma: "Would any of you guys like something to eat or drink?"

*Both Dende and Gohan anwered no in response, but Piccolo stood up, looking down at Bulma now*

Bulma: "Okay…Piccolo…I'll take that as a yes. Food's over here."

*Bulma smiled. She was happy that Piccolo had decided to not only attend the baby shower, but to be non-hostile too. Piccolo was being a little difficult, but she didn't mind. Piccolo walked over with Bulma to another table that had some snacks on it. The real food was coming later*

*As the time went on, Piccolo snacked a little. Bra had finished her karaoke session, which was followed by Master Roshi. His voice screeched through the microphone like nails on a chalkboard. It was awful. Bulma called a stop to the karaoke after he had finished. Bulma didn't know if she could bare anymore of that, let alone some of the others. Instead, Bulma had Yamcha put on some music for everyone to dance to. Of course, not everyone was willing to dance*

*Vegeta and Goku had come back from sparing by this time. Vegeta and Piccolo were definitely not ones to dance, and Dende was a little indifferent about it all. However, Bulma pulled Dende away from Piccolo and started dancing with him.*

*Bulma was really the only one dancing. Dende just stood there looking at her like she was nuts. Piccolo was laughing a little bit at that. He could see the impression on Dende's face. Piccolo knew Dende was uncomfortable. All the while, Krillin tried to get 18 to dance, but that was no go either*

*Chi Chi was able to get Goku to dance, and Gohan and Videl danced together too. Dancing along with them were Bra, Marron, Pan, Trunks, and Goten. Master Roshi was drunk a little, so he just sat around and watched, and Yamcha was just the DJ for the party. All the while, Mr. Popo started to bring out some food that he had cooked*

*The party was particularly loud. Korin was in his own tower, wondering what all the loud ruckus was about. He made his way to the Lookout in no time*

*At first, Korin just stood there. No one had notice he had arrived, except Piccolo. He didn't acknowledge his arrival though. For all Piccolo knew, Korin was invited too*

Korin: "Hey!"

*No one heard Korin over the loud music*

Korin: "HEY!"

*Everyone stopped and turned their heads towards Korin's direction. Korin was definitely heard this time*

*Yamcha turned off the music*

Korin: "What's with all the loud music?!"

*Some of them giggled*

Bulma: "We're throwing a baby shower! You're welcome to join if you'd like."

Korin: "A baby shower you say? Up here?"

*Korin looked around*

Korin: "Since when was this even allowed?! No other Kami before would have allowed this! What's with all the changes?"

*A sweat drop rolled down Dende's brow. He felt like he was caught doing something that he shouldn't of been doing*

Bulma: "Well, the baby shower is for Piccolo, and Piccolo lives up here, so…"

Korin: "WHAT?! For Piccolo?!"

Bulma: "Yeah…"

*Korin was yet another victim of being dumbfounded over Piccolo's pregnancy*

Korin: "…This IS a joke, right? You're joking?"

*Some laughter let lose between a few. Bulma giggled too*

Bulma: "Nope! Just look for yourself."

*Piccolo suddenly felt like a caged animal at the zoo, for all to come see. Korin looked at Piccolo and saw that his abdomen was indeed protruding beyond it's normal size*

Korin: "Dear KAMI! You look like you swallowed a bowling ball!..."

*They all laughed, except Piccolo. He was now irritated, but was able to keep his cool so far*

Korin: "I thought your people spit up eggs?! Not carrying them around like that! How did that happen?"

*Bulma pointed to Dende snickering* "This stud right here, that's how."

*Korin was even in more disbelief. He thought about it at first, and for some reason the thought tickled him*

Korin: "Wow…the Guardian of the Earth knocks up the Former Guardian of the Earth. Now THAT would sell in theaters!"

*Almost everyone burst out into laughter at the joke, but not Dende too much, and especially not Piccolo. He was infuriated. If Piccolo were a kettle, you would see steam coming out of his ears. Immediately he stood up and stormed off. You could hear Bulma, Dende, Gohan, and a few others yell out Piccolo's name*

Dende: "Why did you go say something like that?" *He asked Korin in an aggravated voice*

Korin: "How was I suppose to know he'd walk off crying like a baby? Sheesh!"

Dende: "Well for the rest of the time, if you're going to stay up here for the party, can you please not say anything in relation like that again? PLEASE!? I'd rather avoid Piccolo getting upset anymore."

Korin: "Fine, okay."

*Dende looked at everyone*

Dende: "I'll be back."

*Some nodded, others replied okay*

Gohan: "I'll come with you, Dende."

Dende: "Okay."

*Both of the two friends smiled*

*And there was Dende off to retrieve Piccolo once more. Hopefully it would be easier this time since Gohan was tagging along*


	13. Chapter 13

*Piccolo had made his way into the garden. It was the only place he could think of that could possibly help him cool down at this time. Piccolo removed his earplugs and just tried to relax. But, just as soon as Piccolo removed his earplugs, he heard footsteps nearing his way. It was Dende and Gohan nearing in*

*Since Dende had made his way afar from the party, he too removed his earplugs before speaking to Piccolo*

Dende: "Piccolo…"

Piccolo: "I'm not going back. So, don't try to convince me otherwise."

*Dende let out a sigh* "But...Piccolo..."

Piccolo: "NO! I go back there, that cat's getting my foot in his ass!"

*Gohan giggled a little* "C'mon Piccolo. I know it wasn't right for Korin to joke like that, but don't let that ruin your day!"

*Gohan smiled*

*Gohan's words turned on a lightbulb in Piccolo's skull. Piccolo looked at Gohan, and then at Dende. Then a large smirk grew on Piccolo's face*

Piccolo: "You're right, Gohan. That wasn't right for him to JOKE like that. I shouldn't let it ruin my day."

*Gohan had a weird feeling about that reply, and Dende kind of did too*

*Piccolo had partially placed the blame on Dende. Piccolo felt like if it wasn't for Dende giving the okay, he wouldn't be in this mess in the first place. Piccolo wouldn't have to be dealing with this so called baby shower, and now he started pondering on ways to get back at Dende for doing so*

Dende: "Piccolo, Gohan's right. Just ignore Korin and come back. Please? I'll make it up to you later, I promise."

*Piccolo replied in a sly raspy voice* "Oh yes…you will" *smirking still*

*Dende didn't like the sound of that, and Gohan thought to himself* "Piccolo, what are you up too now?" *Gohan knew that voice probably meant nothing good was bound to take place*

*Piccolo began to make his way back to the party, with Dende and Gohan following each other. Dende and Gohan looked at each other. They weren't too sure what to expect next. Dende definitely knew that was too easy though. Piccolo didn't put up much of a fight. Dende now felt like he should be on guard for some reason, but he just didn't know what to look out for*

*Everyone welcomed Piccolo back, once more, as well as the Dende and Gohan, and Korin didn't bother to apologize for what he had said. Korin figured he'd just let it be*

Bulma: "Alright, everyone. Who's ready to eat?"

*Everyone replied readily*

Piccolo: "Wait! Hold on just one second." *Piccolo was smiling*

*Bulma took note that Piccolo seemed quite cheerful now. She figured whatever they said to Piccolo, it must have really did the trick!*

Piccolo: "Dende come here."

*Dende was standing behind Piccolo a few feet away, next to Gohan*

Dende: "O…kay…" *Walking towards Piccolo's side, Dende began to feel uneasy now*

*Piccolo grabbed Dende from the sides of his arms and pulled him affront of himself*

Piccolo: "I thought I'd share something with you while you're all here. You see, Dende is quite the singer. In fact, sometimes he sings to me."

*Everyone smiled*

Piccolo: "I figured, since Dende's so great at singing and loves to do it so much, maybe he wouldn't mind singing a round of karaoke for you guys! What do ya say, Dende?"

*Dende thought he was going to have a heart attack as everyone stood there smiling and Bulma passed Dende a microphone*

Bulma: "Yamcha. Turn the system back on!"

Yamcha: "Alright. What song ya'll want me'ta play?!"

*Piccolo bent down where his face was level next to Dende's*

*Piccolo, in a sly voice* "I don't know... Dende…What song would you like to sing for US…huh?" *smirking*

*Dende's mouth had dropped and he looked over to Piccolo. He couldn't believe that Piccolo would go and try to embarrass him like that. Dropping the microphone, from being so overwhelmed and embarrassed, Dende began to walk away towards the Lookout*

*Bulma picked up the mircrophone* "Where are you going Dende?"

*Dende didn't respond, and the others mumbled between each other. They were confused*

Gohan: "What just happened?"

*Dende finally had made his way into the Lookout, and Bulma looked at Piccolo*

Bulma: "You planned that didn't you? To put him on the spot?"

*Piccolo looked down at her and continued to smirk*

Bulma: "That's so mean!"

"So that's what Piccolo was thinking about earlier..." *Gohan thought to himself*

*Everyone stood around for a moment in silence now. They weren't too sure what to think, let alone what was going to happen next*

*Bulma couldn't help but ask though* "So…can Dende really sing?"

*Piccolo took in a breath and nodded* "Yes. Believe it or not, he's actually good."

Bulma: "And he sings to you?"

Piccolo: "Perhaps."

Bulma: "Hmm…Well I guess we all learned something new about Dende today…. Poor guy."

Piccolo: "Hmph! Poor guy? "He had it comin'."

*Bulma just looked at Piccolo with a brow raised*

Piccolo: "Now. Would you like me to go fetch him this time, like he had I, or would you prefer me to drag him out by his feet?"

Bulma: "I can't believe you."

*Piccolo just snickered and sat down at the table*

Gohan: "I'll go get him real quick." *Gohan already making his way to the Lookout*

*Piccolo crossed his arms as a smirk still filled his face*

*Bulma looked at the others* "Well, in the meantime, let's get on with it. Might as well set up the food and start eating."

*Each dish was brought out to the table, but Piccolo didn't bother to help. Piccolo was just relaxed and didn't care. He was still aggravated some too*

*When the food was set up, everyone began to eat. Conversations were passed between one another in the process. All the while, Gohan found Dende sitting on a chair in the lookout with his head in his hands while he was bent over*

Gohan: "Hey. You okay, Dende?"

Dende: "Mhmm…Just thinking."

*Gohan looked on at Dende*

Gohan: "About?"

Dende: "I know he did that on purpose! With the remark he had said earlier…I just knew something was going to happen!"

Gohan: "You got that too, huh?"

*Dende took his hands off of his head, sat up, and leaned to the side and rested his face against his fist*

Dende: "Before earlier today, Piccolo had been blowing up often. And I'm glad Piccolo took me seriously after the talk we had today. I just had to let him know that he had to stop. It was becoming too much to bare. But instead of blowing up and saying things that are hurtful, he's now plotting against me! I just don't know what to do anymore…I don't even know why he did that! With Piccolo being pregnant, it's almost like he's become a child!"

*Gohan laughed out loud*

Dende: "Why are you laughing for? I'm being serious."

Gohan: "I'm sorry…I know. But you do know that's normal right?"

Dende: "Even so, it's just ridiculous!"

Gohan: "Well, I don't know what ALL you talked to Piccolo about, and I'm not going to say you probably wasted your time, but until the baby's born…well you might as well get use to it."

*Dende was slightly irritated at Gohan's response, it wasn't exactly what he was expecting, but he also felt kind of bad now too. Maybe he was too harsh on Piccolo, even if he did take it well. Dende knew it wasn't exactly all a waste, because Piccolo hasn't been acting as bad since they had that conversation earlier. But, if Gohan was right, and he had to endure the same thing with Videl when she was pregnant, Dende figured he might as well get use to it, like Gohan said. If Gohan was able to deal with Videl being like that when she was pregnant, than Dende didn't see why he couldn't do the same with Piccolo. After all, Piccolo's pregnancy would be ending within another week's time or so anyways*

*Dende nodded*

Dende: "Hey…you know. I'm sorry about all this running back and forth with things. It's kind of embarrassing and I feel bad for you guys."

*Gohan giggle* "Like I said, that's normal. It's nothing to me and I'm sure not to anyone else either. It's not like we're going to condemn you guys for it, you know? Even if you guys decide to do another ten laps to and from."

*Dende laughed* "Let's hope not. I don't need any more exercise for the day."

*Gohan nodded in acknowledgement* "Well let's get going back…again."

Dende: "Yeah…again."

*They both laughed a little as they began walking*

Gohan: "So…Dende. Piccolo said you really can sing? You think we'll ever be able to get you to do a round of karaoke?"

Dende: "I…I think not."

*Gohan laughed once more, Dende more so in nervousness. Gohan knew that there were just some things that Dende was shy about, so he figured he'd just let it be. Maybe someday Dende would break out of his shyness. Just not today*


	14. Chapter 14

*Gohan and Dende returned back to where the others were. They sat themselves down and joined in on the feast. There was food of all varieties, and it was abundant. Of course, it had to be. There were two full blooded and five half blooded blooded saiyans sitting at the table*

*Dende ate the least, of course. He had him just one gyoza and yakitori, and a bowl of rice. Piccolo ate a lot more than Dende though. Piccolo loved the gyoza and sushi, but his favorite was the chankonabe, and Bulma took note of that. The chankonabe was basically a stew. It contained chicken broth soup base with sake, quartered chicken, balls of fish, tofu, and vegetables. It was very high in protein.*

Bulma: "Piccolo. You better watch out with that chankonabe. It's going to go straight to your thighs if you eat too much. All those calories!" *she giggled*

*Piccolo just looked up at Bulma. What did he care if it had a lot of calories? Piccolo was a warrior, and he knew as soon as he gave birth, any weight that was gained during the pregnancy would just come right of anyways. Of course, that's what Piccolo was thinking*

Piccolo: "I'm not going to get fat from just eating two bowls."

Bulma: "Hmm…never know…"*she kept smiling* "You'd be surprised!"

Bra: "Yeah, Piccolo. Your face looks more full, now that mom mentions it. Unless it's just from you stuffing your face."

*Piccolo just arched a brow at that as Bra giggled. It seemed like sometimes Bra just liked to antagonize people, just like Vegeta. Thankfully, Bra wasn't as bad as Vegeta.

*Piccolo just ignored Bra* "You're just a brat." *He thought to himself*

*After some time had gone by, everyone had finally finished their meal. They were all stuffed, but now Piccolo was ready to pull another one on Dende*

Piccolo: "Bulma, you wouldn't have any coffee by any chance? Would ya?"

Dende: "Coffee?"

Bulma: "Yeah, I'll brew some right up!"

*Dende had no idea why Piccolo would want some coffee. Dende had never had it before and he had never seen Piccolo drink it before either. In fact, Dende had never had a caffeinated drink or food with any caffeine in it either, but Piccolo has. Piccolo knew what caffeine did to their bodies.*

Bulma: "Here you are. One cup of coffee! Want some cream or sugar?"

Piccolo: "Yeah…I want it to taste REAL GOOD."

Bulma: "Alright."

*Bulma gave Piccolo some cream and sugar, which he added to the coffee. Piccolo stirred it around in the coffee and took a very small sip to make sure it tasted decent*

Piccolo: "Mmm…"

Bulma: "Good?"

Piccolo: "Very."

*Piccolo looked over to Dende*

Piccolo: "Dende. I want you to try this. In fact have my cup. I'll get me another."

*Dende looked at the cup of coffee at first. It kind of smelt good to him, and he trusted Piccolo. Piccolo had just taken a taste, and if it didn't hurt him, why not try it? Dende knew Piccolo wouldn't do anything to harm the baby either, so he agreed to drink some*

Dende: "Sure, I'll try it."

*Piccolo passed the coffee over to Dende and asked Bulma if she'd make him another cup. Piccolo only asked for another cup so Dende didn't get suspicious*

Bulma: "Another cup, coming right up!"

*While Bulma got another cup of coffee she asked Chi Chi if she wouldn't mind passing out a sheet of paper and a pencil to everyone. They were about to play their first game for the baby shower*

*Dende started to drink the coffee. It wasn't that bad, he had thought to himself. Piccolo kept his cool and made sure not to make any gestures so that Dende wouldn't catch on to what was going on*

*It didn't take long before Dende felt very strange, and he had no idea why. Gohan took notice though. Dende's eyes started to droop, and he had a small sway to his body. Piccolo chuckled in silence*

Gohan: "Dende? You alright?" *he whispered*

Dende: "Yeah…I just think…I'm getting a little…tired. That's all…" *he replied with a slight slur in his voice*

*All the sheets of papers and pencils had been passed out to everyone, and by now, all of Dende's coffee was gone. Piccolo passed his coffee over to Dende*

Piccolo: "Here…Have another." *in a sly voice*

*Dende's vision blurred in and out here and there*

Dende: "You're so fuzzy."

Piccolo: "Hmm! I'll take that a compliment."

*Piccolo smiled, and Gohan arched a brow*

Bulma: "Alright, everyone! Now, in this game, you have to take Piccolo and Dende's name and make as many baby names as you can from their name within one minute. Whoever has the most names when the time is up, wins a price! Are you ready?...Go!"

*Everyone started thinking as they looked at Piccolo and Dende's name, trying to come up with new names. Piccolo didn't play of course, but Dende grabbed a sheet of paper anyways. Dende stared at the paper as it swayed on the table

Dende: "What's wrong with this paper? I need a pencil!"

Piccolo: "Dende, your pencil is in your hand." *Piccolo laughed and the others giggled*

Bulma: "Dende, you're not supposed to be playing."

Dende: "I'm not…I'm just…thinking."

Bulma: "O…kay…"

*Dende put his pencil to the paper and wrote out a name. The name only had one letter from their own name in it. Piccolo's face was in his hand by now. His face was becoming flushed. Piccolo thought it was absolutely hilarious seeing Dende like this*

Bulma: "Times up! Alright. Time to go around the table and see how many names ya'll got."

*Bulma went around to everyone to see who got the most names, and Marron won*

Dende: "WAIT!"

*Everyone looked at Dende*

Bulma: "What is it, Dende?"

Dende: "What…what about me?"

Bulma: "But I just…"

*Dende turned the paper around*

Dende: "This is his name! I know none of you got it right…There's no way…"

*Piccolo couldn't take it anymore, he bursts out into laughter. It was just too much, and everyone just stared at Piccolo. They didn't get what was so funny*

Bulma: "Dende…The game was to write as many names as you could between both of yours and Piccolo's name. It wasn't to name the baby." *She laughed at little, followed by everyone else*

Gohan: "What does it even say? Is that in Namekian?"

*Dende turned the paper back around. He stared at the name for a second*

Dende: "I think so…Yeah…I…Um. It says..Fluuuuute..."

*Dende was holding the paper out far from his face by now. It was as if he was trying to decipher his own hand writing, but couldn't*

Dende: "What…what the hell did I just write?"

*Dende was swaying and everything in his vision was a little hazy now, and Piccolo laughed and laughed. And suddenly, Dende's face hit the table, and everyone just looked. Piccolo even became silent and his heart sunk a little, thinking to himself* "Great…I overdid it."

*Dende slowly raised his head, and looked at everyone. Dende's nose was bleeding a bit*

Gohan: "Dende, your nose is bleeding... "Piccolo, what's going on with Dende?!"

*Dende pulled the paper back towards himself* "Oh yeah...Flute."

*Bulma blinked* "Dende, you just said that."

*Dende swayed a little more as he placed the paper back down on the table. Piccolo took a deep breath in and sighed* "Yes Dende...Flute."

Gohan: "Okay…REALLY. What's going on?"

*Dende reached for the coffee, but Piccolo immediately grabbed the cup by the handle and pulled it away from Dende*

Piccolo: "You're cut off."

*Gohan now realized this was another game Piccolo was playing. Bulma realized the same thing too. Everyone else was still puzzled*

Gohan: "Are you serious, Piccolo?!"

Bulma: "Piccolo, again? Really?! WHY?!"

Dende: "What happened? Why are you taking my cup away, Piccolo?"

*Dende reached out to Piccolo's face* "Why?"

*Some of the others giggled*

*Piccolo had no choice but to tell Dende. Piccolo knew it was only fair to tell Dende by now he tricked him*

Piccolo: "Because, Dende, you don't need any more. If you haven't figured it out by now, coffee affects us much like alcohol affects humans. I thought it would be amusing to see you drunk. But after seeing you bust your face on the table, I figured now would be the time to tell you so you don't hurt yourself any further."

*Everyone looked at Piccolo. They couldn't believe he'd do something that awful. Maybe years ago. But now? And to Dende?*

*Even though Dende was drunk, he still had feelings. Dende's heart was broken by now. Even with the pregnancy, Dende didn't understand why Piccolo was tormenting him like this, and in front of everyone*

*Dende looked at Piccolo and instead of saying anything, he just let it go. Dende was way too drunk to confront Piccolo properly, and he wasn't about to have a blow out with him or go walk away to only have Gohan come chase him down again*

*Dende didn't feel like chasing Piccolo down anymore either. Dende decided, if Piccolo got mad one more time and wants to walk off, then he'd let him. Dende just wanted to avoid all conflict throughout the rest of the party*

*Dende would wait until later to deal with what Piccolo had done to him*


	15. Chapter 15

*Dende healed his nose and grabbed a napkin to wipe off the blood. At the same time, Piccolo had started to get an earful from some of the others, but Dende put that to a stop*

Dende: "Everyone please stop! It's… okay. I don't want to deal with this right now. Let's just drop it and continue on, please. Next game." *slurred voice*

*They were surprised. Even if Dende was a calm and laid back type of guy, they figured something more would have been said of him. But in agreement, they did what Dende had asked*

Bulma: "O…kay…Um…Well…With the next game we all will measure a piece of string, with our eyes, and try to figure out how large Piccolo's stomach has gotten. After that, we'll cut it, wrap it around him, and see how close everyone got. Whoever gets the closest measurement wins!"

Piccolo: "Are you serious?" *his brows raised*

Bulma: "Uh…huh."

*Piccolo thought to himself* "Great! I don't want any of them touching me like that!"

*Dende patted Piccolo on the back* "Just re…cuperate, okay?"

Piccolo: "It's cooperate."

Dende: "What…ever."

Piccolo: "Pff!"

Bulma: "Okay Piccolo, stand up so everyone can see you."

*It was agonizing for Piccolo to stand up, and in doing so, Dende slapped Piccolo on the buttocks and laughed. A sweat drop rolled down his face* "What the hell, Dende?!"

*Everyone laughed*

Yamcha: "Save it for the bedroom, guys!"

*Dende laughed and Piccolo blushed as he grinded his teeth together. Dende knew he was irritating Piccolo, but Piccolo had asked for it. Dende was hoping this would teach Piccolo a lesson*

*Everyone looked at Piccolo's midsection. They tried to think of how large Piccolo's stomach was, but the loose shirt he was wearing made it kind of difficult to guess the measurement*

*After measuring and cutting their pieces, Bulma took a cloth measuring strip and measured Piccolo's abdomen*

Bulma: "You're about fifty inches round! (127cm). That's about as big as I got with Trunks when I was nine months pregnant. Now let's see who got the closest!"  
*Bulma walked around and measured everyone's piece of string one at a time*

*Krillin's string was huge, measuring at ninety-two inches (233.68cm)*

Bulma: "Wow! And…Krillin got carried away!" *she teased*

*Everyone but Piccolo laughed*

Bulma: "And our winner is, with all her years of experience, Chi Chi!"

Chi Chi: "Hey! You better not be calling me old!"

Bulma: "Well, Chi Chi, if I were calling you old, than that makes me over the HILL!"

*Everyone laughed. That even made Piccolo smile a bit*

Bulma: "Congratulations, Chi Chi!"

*Some of them clapped and hollered*

Bulma: "Okay...and..."

*interrupted by Piccolo*

Piccolo: "If you all don't mind, can we quit with the games? This is getting rather uncomfortable…"

Bulma: "Oh…Piccolo wants to cut to the chase and get to the gifts everybody!"

*They all laughed*

Piccolo: "NO! I don't even care about that! I just don't want to be touched anymore and I want to quit!"

Bulma: "Such the party pooper. You stick in the mud!"

*Others hollered out party pooper and booed Piccolo*

*Piccolo just sat down and crossed his arms*

*Dende was still drunk, but he was coming down from it* "Yeah…party pooper. Stop pooping on everything…pff…"

*Everyone but Piccolo cracked up, all the while Goku, Trunks, and Goten went to grab the gifts from the aircraft*

*Piccolo was a little annoyed now*

Bulma: "Alright. Here come the gifts!"

*One by one, they gifts were set down by the table. Some of the gifts were small and some were huge*

Bulma: "Let's start with the small gifts and work our way up.* *she smiled* "The first gifts are from Krillin, Marron, and 18."

*Bulma sat the gifts in front of Piccolo, and he just stared at them*

Bulma: "Well…Aren't you gonna open them or what?"

*Piccolo looked over to Dende*

Dende: "I'll open them!"

*Dende began to open the gifts. The gifts consisted of several baby pajamas, socks, bathing supplies, a couple of beanie hats, and two small blankets*

Dende: "Look at these pajamas! They're so small and...cute. Thanks you guys." *Dende giggled*

Videl: "Yeah...they are cute. I miss having a baby. Awe…"

*The other girls awed over the clothes too*

Bulma: "And here's a gift from Chi Chi and Goku." *passing it to Dende*

*Inside of the bag was two baby wraps and a nursing pillow*

Dende: "These will come in handy, but what's this?" *referring to the pillow*

Chi Chi: "It's a pillow for nursing, of course!"

Piccolo: "For what?!"

*Dende laughed*

Piccolo: "We don't nurse our children. We don't even have…" *Piccolo stopped and sighed deeply*

Dende: "Nipples?" *Dende whispered to Piccolo, yet everyone heard what Dende said*

*They all laughed*

*Dende swayed a little more, and Piccolo was becoming a little more aggravated but then a thought hit him* "I guess I can see how I get…How I can become very irritating to someone… Even though Dende's not pregnant, he still has a chemical in his body he's not use to, just like myself, and he's acting bizarre! Maybe he'll remember a lot of this too. Maybe he'll see what it's like to have something inside of you, change you to something you're not…"

Chi Chi: "Well…I tried. How was I suppose to know anyways?! You can still place the baby in it either way."

Dende: "Yeah…Thank you both very much!"

*Gohan placed a large present next to Piccolo smiling*

Gohan: "Videl and I got this. You're gonna need it."

Piccolo: "What is it? It's big..."

Gohan: "Open it!"

*Piccolo took the initiative this time, slowly tearing the wrapping paper away*

Dende: "Cool, it's a baby bed!"

Videl: "Yep, your own baby crib! And, it converts three other ways as the baby gets older."

*Dende's face was all grins and his face was flushed. Piccolo just looked at Dende like he had gone insane*

*Gohan brought over another large gift*

Gohan: "We also got you this one too."

Piccolo: "What? Why?"

Gohan: "Because you're our friend and we just did. Now open it!" *smiling*

*Piccolo opened the second gift as well*

Dende: "A swing too?! That's neat. Thanks, you two."

*Even though Piccolo knew Gohan and Videl meant well, he felt that the baby swing was a waste. But maybe him and Dende could find some use of it. Only time would tell*

Piccolo: "Yeah. Thanks."

Dende: "I wonder if it has a high speed?"

Piccolo: "Why? You already tempted to kill him?"

Dende: "What?!...Nooooo."

*Gohan laughed at Dende's warped face, followed by Piccolo and the others*

Piccolo: "…So stupid."

Gohan: "That's all you Piccolo. Remember you gave him the coffee."

Piccolo: "Shut up."

*Gohan and the others laughed again*

Bulma: "Okay. Time for our gifts!" *placing the gifts in front of Piccolo and Dende*  
*Dende unwrapped the smaller gift and Piccolo the larger one. The gift Dende unwrapped was a large foam mat for the baby to play on. It had different colors with letters and numbers.*

Dende: "That's so NEAT! I bet he's going to chew all over it..." *Dende referring to the baby*

*Piccolo looked at Dende*

Piccolo: "By the Gods help me with this one..."

Dende: "Hmm?" *Dende grinning ear to ear*

*Piccolo ignored Dende and unwrapped the second gift. It was a playpen*

Piccolo: "Why would we need this?"

Bulma: "It's to put the baby in so you can rest while he plays."

*Piccolo looked at Bulma with an arched brow*

Dende: "That's okay, Piccolo. You can use it so you can go play with yourself!"

*Everyone giggled a little*

Dende: "I mean! Not in that manner of coarse…Just…"

Piccolo: "Dende, just stop talking. Please!"

*Everyone laughed out loud, and Dende just smiled*

*Since the gifts had been unwrapped, it was getting toward the end of the baby shower now. Everyone stayed a while and chatted, meanwhile, Mr. Popo started to clean up all the tables. Following Mr. Popo, the others pitched in, just as well, they also helped take the gifts in the Lookout, to a room that was going to be reserved for the nursery. Soon after, all of the supplies that were brought to the party were packed back up on the aircraft*

*Saying their goodbyes, everyone that had came to the party boarded the aircraft, and they were soon on their way home and out of sight. Piccolo was very relieved that the baby shower had come to an end. Piccolo didn't think it was as bad as he had thought it would have been. If anything, Piccolo regretted ever giving Dende that cup of coffee.*


	16. Chapter 16

*Since the others had left the Lookout, Mr. Popo, Piccolo, and Dende made their way indoors for the rest of the evening. Even though it was about 8pm, Piccolo was already to go to bed*

*Dende was near sober, only stumbling and swaying from time to time. He was a bit groggy too*

*Piccolo had separated from Dende and had made his way to the kitchen. Dende looked around the room he was in, he felt kind of lost*

Dende: "Piccolo?"

*Piccolo just ignored him. He didn't care to deal with Dende right now. Piccolo was wetting down a cloth with cold water to pass over his face. He was feeling a little ill*

*Dende made his way into the kitchen soon. Dende took a seat at the table and watched Piccolo for a moment. However, Dende was having a hard time keeping his eyes open*

Dende: "I don't appreciate what you did to me today."

*Piccolo turned to Dende, seeing that he was falling asleep*

Piccolo: "I'd rather save this conversation for another day, like tomorrow."

*Dende's head just slowly lowered itself to the table top. Piccolo sighed, because he knew Dende didn't deserve what he had done to him. Piccolo only acted in the heat of the moment. He couldn't turn back time though. What was done is done*

*Piccolo just looked at Dende. He had fallen asleep. Piccolo walked over to Dende and leaned over to pick him up. Dende's head rose from the table top, and he looked at Piccolo*

Dende: "What…what are you doing?"

Piccolo: "Taking you to bed."

Dende: "No, you don't have to carry me. Just let me go. I'll walk myself."

*Dende stood up and began stumbling his way out of the kitchen, with Piccolo following close behind. Piccolo smiled some. He thought it was kind of cute seeing Dende walk like that. Dende kind of reminded Piccolo of a baby*

Piccolo: "You gonna be able to make it up those stairs?"

*Dende looked at the stairs, his eyes scanned the stairs on up. He then turned around and sat on the first step*

Dende: "Forget it. I'll just sleep here for the night. I'll be fine."

*Piccolo smiled and used his ki to lift him up off of the stairs*

Dende: "Wait! What are you doing?!"

*Piccolo positioned Dende over his shoulder like a ragdoll*

Piccolo: "Taking you to bed."

Dende: "You shouldn't be doing this while you're pregnant! Put me down!"

Piccolo: "I'm not disabled, you know. I can do anything I normally would do…fighting is the only exception, I suppose. Besides…you're not that heavy anyways."

*Dende let out a sigh. What else could he do? Piccolo was going to do whatever he wanted anyways. And Dende realized Piccolo was right. In no time flat, Piccolo made it up the stairway and to their room. When Piccolo reached the bed, he placed Dende down on it*

Piccolo: "You know…if anything, as of now, you seem to be the one that's disabled*

*Dende smiled*

*Piccolo, using his mystic power, changed both his and Dende's clothes to comfortable pants they could sleep in*

*Dende's grin grew larger* "Look at that belly!" *he giggled*

Piccolo: "Go to sleep."

*Piccolo made his way to the other side of the bed to lie down*

*Covering himself up, as Piccolo laid down, Dende turned to his side and wrapped his arm around Piccolo*

*Piccolo's eyes were shut, and he grinned* "Don't think about it…"

*Dende giggled* "Think about what?"

Piccolo: "I feel that, and it's not happening"

*Dende's eyes were open as he pulled his face back from Piccolo and continued to smile*

*Piccolo opened his eyes and turned his head towards Dende. Piccolo couldn't help but smile either*

Dende: "What are you talking about?" *sounding a little provocative as he rolled over, partially on top of Piccolo*

Piccolo: "I'm serious, Dende, and what the hell?! One minute you're about to pass out and hit the floor, and the next minute you want to…to do this?!"

Dende: "It did it on it's know how it is when you fall asleep or wake up!"

Piccolo: "Hmmm..."

*Dende just giggled once more and moved his face towards Piccolo to kiss him. For awhile Dende kissed on Piccolo's lips and neck, but within no time, Dende was passed out on top of Piccolo*

*Piccolo laughed mentally* "Kami, why?! *He thought to himself*

*Piccolo wasn't too uncomfortable with Dende lying on his right shoulder with part of Dende's right leg over his own. But being pregnant, lying on his own back wouldn't be comfortable for too long. Piccolo waited a while before doing anything at first; he went over the things that had happened during that day. Finally, Piccolo rolled Dende off of his body, making Piccolo able to roll over to his own left side*

*No sooner had Piccolo rolled over to his side and closed his eyes, Dende awoke once more and grabbed Piccolo on his waist from behind and ran his hand across Piccolo's stomach. Piccolo immediately opened his eyes, he didn't like his stomach to be touched much, now that he was pregnant; but, there was something rather intimate about the way Dende caressed him, and it made Piccolo smile. As Dende's own hand lay there across Piccolo's stomach, Piccolo closed his eyes and placed his right hand over Dende's, and the two fell asleep in no time*


	17. Chapter 17

*Eventually morning came and Piccolo was the first to wake up. He laid there thinking about what was to come as soon as Dende woke up. And it wasn't long until Dende woke up too. Rubbing his eyes and yawning, Dende looked over to Piccolo and smiled*

Dende: "Well hello there."

*Piccolo smiled*

Dende: "So Piccolo…you ready to" *interrupted by Piccolo*

Piccolo: "Talk about what happened yesterday? You just woke up. Don't ya think it's a little early to be having this conversation?"

Dende: "You made it clear that you wanted to wait until tomorrow to talk, and it's now tomorrow. I just figured it would be best to get it done and out of the way so that we'll have the rest of the day to ourselves. Clean slate. You know?"

*Piccolo supposed Dende was right. It was probably best to talk now instead of having to wait*

Piccolo: "Okay…Let the scolding begin…"

*Dende looked at Piccolo with a slight raised brow* "I don't want to scold you in any way, I would just like to know why you embarrassed me like that yesterday. Why did you do that?"

Piccolo: "It was in the heat of the moment, okay? This pregnancy is making me nuts…"

Dende: "Piccolo…"

Piccolo: "Look, I now understand how you feel. Do you I?! It's not great being under an influence of any sort, now is it?"

*Dende thought about what Piccolo meant* "What do you mean?"

Piccolo: "How you irritate the hell out of me sometimes, and I you. Yesterday, when you were drunk, it made me realize some things."

Dende: "Hmm…Well…that's good. But an influence?"

Piccolo: "Did you not see how you were when you had drank the coffee? The things you said and did? Would you have done so if you hadn't any?"

Dende: "No."

Piccolo: "Exactly! *Piccolo pointed to his abdomen* "An influence! A chemical one at that. Now, do you understand more clearly? There's your answer…"

*Dende looked at Piccolo and stayed quiet for a moment. Piccolo was making more sense to Dende now, and he understood why Piccolo tricked him and got him drunk. It wasn't just a mean trick Piccolo was trying to pull, but Dende now understood that Piccolo wanted to show him what it was like to be changed by a substance, that compared to being pregnant. And with that, Dende dropped the conversation and placed his right hand on Piccolo's left arm*

Dende: "You still don't feel good, do you? I can see it in your face."

*Piccolo's eyes began to tear up a little. He was sure now that Dende understood, and that made him happy. Piccolo was also happy that the conversation had come to a stop. Piccolo could only hope now that the bickering would all come to an end as well*

Piccolo: "Yeah, somewhat. I'll be fine. I'm just going to go bathe."

*Piccolo sat up first, followed by Dende*

*Dende watched Piccolo make his way to the bathroom as he stood up out of bed himself to follow. Dende had a feeling that things were soon going to change, not just with the baby, but between both him and Piccolo. And now that Dende had a better understanding of Piccolo, he was able to put the whole thing with Piccolo's attitude to rest. Dende knew now that Gohan was right, and that Piccolo couldn't entirely help all of what was going on inside himself. Dende only had to put up with Piccolo's mood swings for at least one more week, and to him, he knew it would be worth it all*

*After turning the shower on, Piccolo stood under the head to wet himself as he began to bathe. Dende hadn't entered yet. He stood back and watched Piccolo from outside of the shower. From behind, Piccolo didn't look at all pregnant much, only a little thicker than usual*

*Dende's eyes scanned Piccolo's body. He felt different about Piccolo somehow, compared to how he use to feel, especially since he was carrying their child. Before, Dende really thought he loved Piccolo, he didn't think there was a level above that. And to Dende's surprise there was, but he just didn't know what it was, or if it had a name. Dende just knew that Piccolo meant everything to him and that he would do anything for him, even give his own life up if Dende had to*

*With everything that had changed, Dende felt like he was some type of protector. He wanted to take care of Piccolo, to keep him safe, and to love him with all his heart. So many feelings were rushing through Dende as he continued to watch Piccolo bath, and arousal was one of them*

*Making his way into the shower, Dende neared Piccolo from behind. Dende wrapped his arms around Piccolo and smiled, and Piccolo smiled too. Piccolo could feel Dende's heartbeat through his own body, and it filled him with elation*

*Piccolo held out his washcloth* "Wanna wash my back?"

*Dende laughed lightly* "Sure. And then you me, right?"

Piccolo: "Alright."

*Dende took the cloth from Piccolo and began washing his back, starting from the top and working his way down to Piccolo's buttocks. Dende was next, and Piccolo did the same to him. Only, Piccolo wrapped his arms around Dende now when he had finished bathing his back. It was a little more hard for Piccolo to hold Dende from behind with his stomach protruding out. Dende smiled, though. He loved feeling Piccolo's stomach against his own body, he also thought it was cute. Piccolo's body remained built, but the fat around his muscles increased due to his pregnancy, and his belly was round and solid as if he had consumed a large meal*

*Piccolo eventually rinsed his body, made his way out of the shower, and got out to dry. While Dende was rinsing off, Piccolo made his way back to the room to sit himself down on the side of the bed. He hadn't dressed yet. Piccolo looked at the clock and noticed it was only 4:03am, it was still early. Usually, Piccolo would be up by this time, but now with his pregnancy, he was tired more often. Thankfully, his fatigue wasn't as bad as the week before*

*Dende turned off the shower and stepped out, drying himself off. Walking into the room with a towel wrapped around his waist, Dende found Piccolo still sitting on the bed, looking down at the floor.

Dende: "You still tired?

*Piccolo nodded*

Dende: "You can go back to sleep if you want. You know I'm not really going anywhere."

*Piccolo laughed as he looked up at Dende. It was true. Although Dende would eventually leave the room, he wasn't going to be leaving the Lookout any time soon*

*Dende didn't know any better just yet, but Piccolo was somewhat aroused, and if Dende stood around in that bath towel any longer, Piccolo only knew one thing he was going to do with it, or at least he thought*

*Piccolo's eyes ran all over Dende's body as he walked towards Piccolo. For someone who didn't fight, Dende had an athletic build much like a warrior, but his muscles weren't as tightly packed and as thick as Piccolo's. Piccolo could care less if Dende had a body builder body type. Dende turned Piccolo on just for who he was.*

*Since Piccolo had become gravid, his ability to become erect decreased dramatically, but even so, there were other signs that Dende was able to pick up to let him know that Piccolo was aroused. Dende backed up as he could sense Piccolo's arousal. There was just something about how Piccolo looked, with his glossy eyes and his heartbeat pacing a little*

Dende: "Piccolo…"

Piccolo: "Hmm?"

*Dende brushed a hand across Piccolo's face, and Piccolo placed a hand on Dende's stomach, softly passing his hand across and down to his towel. Piccolo pulled Dende back towards himself with his other hand placed behind Dende, placing his lips upon Dende's stomach, kissing him softly. Resting his forehead upon Dende's stomach*

Dende: "Let's lie you back down then, huh?"

*Piccolo nodded his head against Dende's stomach in agreement*

Piccolo: "Yeah…"

*It had been a week since they last lay with each other, but Piccolo was so gravid, Dende didn't want to chance anything. In Dende's mind, he thought he might bust the egg or hurt Piccolo. And besides, Piccolo was rather uncomfortable now, Dende knew it would only get worst towards his birthing day*

*Piccolo lied down and Dende covered him up. Leaning forward, Dende placed a kiss on Piccolo's lips and pulled away, both of them smiling*

Dende: "Sleep well, okay? If you need me, just call. I'm going to get the day started by reading a book or two."

Piccolo: "Okay."

*And with that, Piccolo turned to his left side and closed his eyes as Dende walked away and left the room*


	18. Chapter 18

*It had been five days since the baby shower was first thrown, and Dende was getting ready for a couple of his brothers and nephews to arrive for their training. Goku had gone to get them on the new planet Namek using his instant transmission technique. Meanwhile, Mr. Popo was running around tidying up the Lookout and watering the plants, as usual; and, Piccolo made himself comfortable under a tree near the garden*

*Dende was near*

Piccolo: "Dende…"

Dende: "Hmm?"

*Dende made his way where Piccolo was sitting*

Piccolo: "You know…I never asked, let alone bothered observing what exactly it is that you do."

Dende: "What do you mean?"

Piccolo: "With your training…What exactly do you guys do?"

Dende: "Oh…well we train much like warriors do I suppose. We train over and over again to better ourselves."

*Piccolo let out a sigh* "I know...but that's not what I'm asking of you."

*Dende continued looking down at Piccolo*

Piccolo: "How do you train yourselves? I just can't think of how or at least what you would do in order to better yourselves as a healer."

*Dende grinned*

Dende: "Okay, sorry about that. I get what you mean…Well, we take a dagger and we'll either cut ourselves, on our arms preferably, or even stab ourselves or one another, and from that, we heal ourselves and each other. We start with small wounds at first though, the deeper wounds are more for advanced healers to practice."

*Piccolo was looking at Dende like he was mad*

Piccolo: "You self mutilate yourselves?!"

Dende: "Well if you think about it, in a way you guys do too. All that punching and kicking on each other, what do you think that is?"

*Piccolo realized Dende had a point, but he still couldn't believe it. Piccolo couldn't picture Dende doing that to himself, let alone others. Cutting himself up, and even stabbing himself? Even though it seemed a little insane, in a way Piccolo found it to be kind of sexy too. Piccolo always pictured Dende to be the soft guy that would flee away from painful infliction of any sort. But to his surprise, Dende wasn't that type of guy afterall. At least, to a certain degree*

*Piccolo smirked*

Dende: "What's with the smile? You were just giving me a look as if I were crazy and now you're smirking at me."

Piccolo: "It's nothing. Ya best get going. I'm sure Goku will be here before too long."

*All ten of the brothers and nephews gathered around Goku so that he could take them to the Lookout, but suddenly someone came running towards them*

Cargo: "Wait! I want to go. Please?!"

Moori: "But Cargo, you're not really a healer. Why do you want to go for?"

*Cargo was huffing and puffing as he came to a stop*

Cargo: "I…I want to go see…Dende. I haven't seen him in a few years."

*Everyone smiled*

Cargo: "You don't mind, do you?" *he asked Goku*

Goku: "No, not at all. I'm sure your brother would be happy to see you."

*Cargo was relieved to hear that. Although Cargo was Dende's twin, he had no healing capabilities whatsoever. Dende was great at healing, but Cargo only had the most common and basic mystic abilities, which meant he was able to create materials instantaneously and move objects and living entities around. Dende and Piccolo possessed these basic powers too*

*Cargo was proud of his brother when Dende left to become the guardian of the Earth, but it broke his heart too. Cargo and his brother were close when they were children and he always looked up to Dende. Cargo couldn't wait see his brother once more. It had been a while*

Moori: "Tell Dende hello for us all and that we love and miss him!"

*Cargo nodded*

Goku: "Alright. Everyone ready? Hold on!"

*Each person had a hold of another by an arm, all leading back to Goku to complete the connection, and instantly they vanished. Within seconds, they all appeared on the Lookout with Mr. Popo and Dende standing near in wait*

Goku: "Hey Dende! Got'em all round up for ya!" *he smiled*

*Everyone was delighted to see Dende. They all bowed one at a time, greeting Dende. Cargo was the last to greet his brother*

Dende: "Cargo…Hey! I haven't seen you in a while. How have you been?"

*They both laughed and hugged one another. It was almost like everyone was seeing double. The only difference between Cargo and Dende were their clothes. They looked and sounded exactly alike*

Cargo: "Yeah, I had to come see ya! I hope you don't mind, I know I'm not a healer and all, but it's been a while and.."

Dende: "No! Not at all! Are you crazy? I missed you. Any of you are welcome to come anytime you want."

*Everyone smiled and talked some, and before too long, Goku wished them good luck on their training, and left the Lookout. It was near dinner time by now, about 5pm, and Goku didn't want to miss out*

*All the meanwhile, Piccolo had been listening since their visitors had arrived. Standing up from where he was in the garden, Piccolo made his way around the Lookout to where Dende and his family were*

*Making his way towards the crowd, Dende's back faced Piccolo. The others who were talking had abruptly stopped as they saw Piccolo nearing them. Dende took notice to that and turned around*

Dende: "Hey, Piccolo. Coming to join us?"

*The other Namekians were staring at Piccolo. They couldn't help but look, especially at his abdomen*

Piccolo: "Stop staring!" *Piccolo noticed that they were staring at his stomach*

Piccolo: "What's the matter? Never seen someone gravid before?"

*They actually never had and were amazed and curious*

Ain: "What's it like?"

Kylate: "Yeah?"

Corinth: "Does it hurt?"

*Piccolo's brow arched. He hadn't expected to be questioned like this. It was as if they were all fearless of him. Usually, people wouldn't bother to ask a question of Piccolo. Most people would go astray as if they were afraid of him. But they were not. They felt quite comfortable around Piccolo, as if he were their own brother, but that's how Namekians are. They saw each other as if they were all family*

*Dende smiled, but Piccolo was astonished*

Dende: "Piccolo?"

*Piccolo looked at Dende, he was actually becoming uneasy*

Dende: "Piccolo, it's okay.*

*Dende noticed Piccolo wasn't acting himself, yet again* "Perhaps this is also due to his pregnancy?" *he questioned himself*

Piccolo: "I…I know. I just…"

"That's better." *Dende thought*

*Everyone continued to gaze at Piccolo as if they were mesmerized. They were waiting for an answer or two. Finally, Piccolo caved in*

Piccolo: "At first it wasn't too bad. But the further the pregnancy progressed, the more uncomfortable I have become. My back, pelvis, and legs hurt on and off often now, I have mood swings daily, I eat here and there, vomit occasionally…"

*Their eyes were wide by now. It was almost like they were being told a scary story. Piccolo continued*

Piccolo: "Oddly my libido increased as well, but at this size (referring to his body) it's much of a waste really...The only good thing now is that my fatigue has lessened."

*They all just continued to stare*

Piccolo: "Now…if you would excuse me. I'm going to eat me a small meal, bathe, and probably lie down for the rest of the evening."

*Piccolo made way towards the inside of the Lookout, as everyone stood there watching him do so*

*Dende didn't know what to say. However, they all avoided talking about the matter any further, and instead moved on to another subject while making their way into the Lookout for the rest of the evening*


	19. Chapter 19

*The morning had come and it was Sunday, July 7th. The Lookout sat high in the sky above most of the clouds. In fact, the only clouds that were ever seen above the Lookout were cumulonimbus. So, it never rained on the Lookout, but by the sounds heard all around, it was definitely raining down below*

*All twelve of the Namekians made their way to the hyperbolic time chamber. Dende chose this area as the place to train because of its convenience in time use. Although they would spend a vast amount of time in the chamber, not much time on the outside of the room itself would be spent. This would give much time to train*

*It had been two days in a row that Piccolo had trouble sleeping. The night before last, Piccolo got a couple of hours of restless sleep, but last night, he couldn't fall asleep whatsoever. It was now 5am, Dende had just left to start his training with the others, and due to no sleep, Piccolo felt like yelling his head off. It was driving him insane*

"Why can't I sleep?!" *he asked himself in irritation*

*Piccolo's back and pelvis were aching terribly, and from time to time he would get some type of cramping he'd never experienced before until yesterday at around 9pm. Piccolo kept wondering if his time was coming near. He definitely made sure that Dende left the hyperbolic time chamber accessible so that he or Mr. Popo could reach him if needed. Either way, if someone did accidentally lock the door behind, luckily there would be telepathy as a backup*

*Meanwhile, Dende and the others had already got started. For two of the Namekians, it was their first day, so they had to learn how to channel their energy better and properly. Two others were considered veterans of the class, while the rest lied somewhere in between*

Cargo: "Dende. Before you all get started, I was just wondering, actually we were all kind of wondering... You are the father of Piccolo's child, right?"

*They all wanted to know too since they first saw Piccolo yesterday evening*

*Dende smiled*

Dende: "Yes, of course. There's only the two of us here on Earth. You didn't think there was another way for him to become pregnant like that, did you?"

*Cargo laughed nervously and the others laughed too*

Llamek: "What's it like?"

Dende: "To be a father? Well, I haven't fully gotten started yet. But so far I'm very happy about it."

Ain: "No. He means to mate with another."

*A swet drop rolled down Dende's brow*

Dende: "You're…Is...that…a serious question?" *He asked in a bit of shock*

*They all nodded*

Dende: "Uh…well…it's uh…It feels good, heh." *Dende laughed nervously*

*A small hesitation*

Feranesso: "Like bathing in a hot spring?"

Ain: "Or a nice massage?"

*They all started thinking about things that felt good to them*

Dende: "Um…beyond that. And it's not just the physical part either, there's a spiritual connection…like a bond."

Kylate: "Like when you share your energy with another, and you can feel them? Their thoughts and feelings, as if they were a part of you?"

Dende: "Actually, yes. It's a lot like that."

*The Namekians awed at that. Intercourse sounded wonderful to them. It kind of made them wish they had a mate of their own. In some way, they envied Dende a little*

Dende: "But, listen you guys. You can't miss something you've never had before, so don't let it bum you out, okay? Yes, it's great to have a mate and to lay with one another, but there are other things in life that are just as wonderful. So don't let what I told you get to you."

*All the others were looking down. They were lost in thought and were saddened, thinking if only the disaster that had happened to their planet years ago would have never taken place. It would take years, at their pace, for Namekians alike to even considering laying with one another to sexually reproduce. For now, they all stayed with the culture that Guru had passed on to them, and that was for the eldest (leader) to only reproduce, and asexually at that. The Namekian culture was more like ants. Everyone pitched in to help one another, but only one ant, the queen, reproduced offspring*

*However, Dende did make a point across to them. Their lives were different than the one Dende was now living. And how could they miss something they never had? They all loved each other equally and were happy on their home planet. And, although they didn't birth their own children, but were only passed a child from the elder to raise, it was enough to feed their desires of having biological children of their own. So what was the use of producing sexually for them anyways?*

*With that, they all agreed. Dende was right, and with that, he was relieved also. For a minute, Dende had feared that he may have corrupted his brothers somehow.*

*Finally, with that settled, Dende and the others got started. Cargo hung around for awhile, but he made haste to leave, and he let Dende know that he was ready to do so. Dende figured Cargo wouldn't want to hang around too long anyways. There really was nothing for Cargo to do during the training. So, Dende contacted Mr. Popo through telepathy so that he would know what was going on, and quickly Mr. Popo came and escorted Cargo away from the chamber and to the library. Mr. Popo assumed that with Cargo being Namekian, he might find it in his interest to learn more about Earth and its inhabitants*

*On the other side of the Lookout, Piccolo was vomiting immensely until he couldn't vomit no more. He never had that happen before, but Piccolo sure was glad it was over with, once the vomiting came to a halt. After which, Piccolo made his way out of the bedroom and down to the kitchen. Piccolo was surprised to find that he wasn't hungry by any means. Usually he was hungry, even after throwing up. Everything was off for him today, and this convinced Piccolo more that something was bound to happen soon*

*Piccolo had a feeling that perhaps he should go to Dende and speak to him, but at the same time, he didn't want to disturb him while he was training the others.*

*The Lookout was very quiet, besides the thunder roaring below. And Piccolo could hear the muffled conversation between Mr. Popo and Cargo in the library. He looked at the clock again, it was now 6:25am. But, no sooner had Piccolo looked away from the clock, he felt something warm and wet sliding down his leg. This actually made Piccolo freak out*

*No one was around Piccolo. He was alone on the bottom floor, and everyone else was on a different level*

"Okay…what do I do?!"*Piccolo asked himself frantically, his heart began to race*

*Piccolo decided to take himself back up to his room so that he could see what was going on with his body. Their room was also comforting to Piccolo. So if anything was to happen right now, that's where Piccolo knew he wanted to be*

*The more Piccolo climbed up the stairs, the more the warm liquid ran down his legs. Piccolo thought it felt absolutely disgusting. He felt like he was urinating on himself if anything. But finally, Piccolo got to their room and immediately he took off his clothes and jumped in the shower. Piccolo just had to get the stuff off of him. And then he realized IT was happening. On the floor of the shower was blood tinged fluid. Piccolo's heart began to race faster*

*Even though Piccolo was excited about having a child, he was also terrified of the whole birthing process, he didn't know what to expect. Piccolo has experienced many types of pain at many types of levels. He knew that this pain that he was about to experience was going to be different, but at what level, Piccolo wasn't too sure of*

*Grabbing a towel, Piccolo dried off his body as good as he could and made his way back to the room while holding the towel between his legs with one hand. He didn't want to get blood on much of anything if he could help it. Piccolo didn't even bother to dress himself. What was the point? He looked at the bed. Piccolo didn't want to make a mess of it, but it wasn't like he couldn't replace it either, so he sat himself down upon it. Piccolo just wanted to get as comfortable as he could.*

*So, Piccolo sat there and waited to see what his body would do. It was about another hour, 7:32am, until something started happening; and, finally he got his first strong contraction. Piccolo felt like his back was going to give out on him and that his insides were going to fall out. No sooner had the contraction started, it was over with. The pain was definitely different than any Piccolo had experienced before, but the level was probably just a little higher than any pain he had ever felt prior to this. It was something he could handle. Piccolo could only thank the Gods that he was a warrior and had a high tolerance to pain

*Some time went by and the contractions got closer and closer. By now, it was 10:45am. Piccolo didn't know it, but Dende and the others were taking a break from the hyperbolic time chamber. Much time had passed for them while they were in there, but only a couple of hours had gone by in real time. Luckily, Dende knew how to keep track of time while they had been in there*

*Cargo and Mr. Popo were now outside of the Lookout, and Dende and the others had joined them*

Cargo: "So how's the training going, Dende?"

Dende: "Moving along quite well, actually."

*Dende smiled*

Cargo: "That's great to hear." *smiling also*

Dende: "What did you do for the past couple of hours?"

Cargo: "Mr. Popo took me the library. So I read."

Dende: "Ahh…yes. The library. I spend a lot of time in there myself, more now than what I use to...Lots of books."

Cargo: "Lots." *Cargo's eyes widened*

Dende: "Just wondering, has anyone seen Piccolo?"

*Everyone looked around at each other and back at Dende. They all nodded no*

Dende: "…That's unusual…I'll be right back."

*Dende began to walk away but stopped and turned back around*

*Everyone still looking at Dende*

Dende: "If I don't return, then you all can have the rest of the day off to do whatever it is you'd like. I'm only saying that because Piccolo is due anytime now, and for all I know, he might be in labor right now."

*The other Namekians nodded, and Dende continued to make his way back into the sanctuary*

Dende: "Piccolo…the only thing I don't understand is, if you're in labor, why didn't you try contacting me?" *Dende questioned in his mind*


	20. Chapter 20

Dende: "Piccolo?" *speaking through telepathy*

*There was no answer. Piccolo was trying to concentrate on his current contraction, which made it hard for him to respond to Dende. He contacted Dende soon after the contraction ended*

Piccolo: "Dende…"

Dende: "You sound out of breath. Are you okay?"

Piccolo: "In the bedroom…now!"

*Dende was running now. In no time flat he made it to their room, and there was Piccolo. Piccolo was sitting up against the back of the bed with his hands over his stomach. His face was twisted from the contraction he was experiencing*

Dende: "Why didn't you contact me?!"

*Piccolo didn't answer. In fact, he didn't make much of any sound. Piccolo just breathed deeply and calmly, in and out, but he shook some from the pain. Dende could see that Piccolo was in a lot of pain and that he was placing all his concentration upon it*

*After the contraction passed, Piccolo answered Dende*

Piccolo: "I'm…sorry…Everything…came on…so…quickly…"

*Piccolo continued to breathe in and out. Dende noticed that there was some blood and clear fluids on the bed, but nothing more. Piccolo's orifice was bulging some, but there was no egg crowning at the moment*

*Dende sat himself upon the foot of the bed, across from Piccolo's rear. Piccolo remained in the same position for a couple more contractions, but the position wasn't working for him, so he turned over on his hands and knees and rocked some. Dende thought it was rather strange. He had no idea what Piccolo was doing, but Dende supposed if it was comforting for Piccolo and helping him, and that was all that mattered*

*Piccolo suddenly stopped and brought his legs further apart. He looked up to the ceiling as another contraction began and then closed his eyes. This time the contraction was much stronger and longer. It was strong enough that it brought an audible moan out of Piccolo. Dende watched as Piccolo's cloacae grew larger. The only thing Dende could think of doing was to rub Piccolo's lower back to help ease his pain*

*Piccolo's contractions were now so close together, there was no telling them apart. The pain was continuous, and now Dende could see the egg making its way through Piccolo's orifice. Piccolo's pain had maxed out at this point*

Piccolo: "I think there's something wrong!"

*Dende was wide eyed, he couldn't believe what he was seeing and was filled with many emotions. Dende was just overwhelmed, but he quickly snapped out of it. He placed a cloth blanket directly under Piccolo's bottom. This was to be used to wrap the egg in for a short time*

Dende: "No…I don't think there's anything wrong. Just keep pushing." *Dende tried to remain calm so that he could help Piccolo stay as calm as he could also*

*Dende placed his hands around the outside of Piccolo's orifice, pushing upward. He did this to try and help Piccolo get the egg out more quickly and easy. Even though it caused Piccolo more pain, it worked. The egg slid right out and landed on top of the blanket, and Piccolo slowly lowered himself down, rolling over to his side. Piccolo was shaking as he was trying to catch his breath. His energy had been drained greatly. But that would soon be fixed*

*Dende had been staring at the egg, but he looked now up at Piccolo, whose eyes were closed again. Dende looked back down at the egg as it lied in the blanked, and grabbed it up into his arms and placed it next to Piccolo's abdomen in the middle of the bed*

*Dende couldn't help but smile*

*Standing up off of the bed, Dende walked his way over to Piccolo's back side. Placing his hands over Piccolo, Dende's energy dispersed from his own body and wrapped around Piccolo's, instantly healing him*

*Piccolo's eyes shot open, and he sat up, pulled the egg to him, and turned over to face Dende. It had been years since Dende had healed him, and something had changed in his healing technique. Piccolo decided he'd ask Dende about that later, however*

Piccolo: "…Thank…you."

*Piccolo was shaking a little, still. He was overwhelmed just as well*

*Dende looked over as Piccolo held the egg*

Dende: "It's no problem. Let's get you up so I can replace these covers, okay? It would be better for you to have a clean bed to lay on. You can set the egg back down after and go clean up real quick, okay?"

*Piccolo nodded at that and stood up with the egg in his arms, walking away to the bathroom*

Dende: "Pi…?"

*Piccolo did totally the opposite of what Dende just suggested, but Dende wasn't going to stop Piccolo, he just let him go. Dende knew Piccolo wasn't going to let the egg out of his sight. That made Dende smile all the more. He thought it was cute*

*Piccolo caressed the egg softly as he sat down on a shower bench. For a moment, Piccolo was mesmerized by the egg. Their child was developing faster now and soon he would hatch*

*Piccolo soon sat the egg aside on the floor so that he could clean himself up once more. He stared at the egg as he began to reflect on how he had been during the entire pregnancy. Piccolo thought to himself as he began to bathe* "What if this had been our second child, and not our first?"

*Piccolo was feeling even more guilty now than ever, for the way he had acted. Piccolo couldn't even imagine acting that way in front of their own child, and knew he would have done everything possible not to do so if him and Dende had already had a child prior to this one*

*Piccolo thought to himself* "There's no way I would have let myself acted that way if we already had a child and this had been a second pregnancy. I can't believe how childish I had been, that I converted back to how I was in my more youthful years, before I had ever met Gohan and had been changed…What would our child have thought of me?"

*Not only did guilt set in, but embarrassment and disappointment as well. Piccolo couldn't help but break down and weep*

*All the while, Dende had been done changing the bed covers. He had been standing in the room watching Piccolo the entire time. Dende, wanted to give Piccolo some time to clean up, just as well some space for a moment*

*As soon as he saw Piccolo collapse into a ball on the shower floor, Dende wasted no time in escorting Piccolo out of the shower*

*Dende turned the shower off and sat the egg in Piccolo's arms

Dende: "Come on. Let's go back to the room."

*Piccolo slowly stood up and walked with Dende back to the room. On the floor of the room were floor cushions to relax on. Here, Dende brought Piccolo to sit with the egg. Piccolo was still sobbing, even more so*

Dende: "Why are you crying for?" *Dende threw a thin blanket over Piccolo's shoulders and wrapped it around to the front of his body*

Piccolo: "Because! Look at me…I'm just..."*

Dende: "Shh…whatever it is you're thinking, no you're not. Why are you even thinking negative at a time like this?"

Piccolo: "Look at how I had acted…I acted like as I had years ago!"

Dende: "Just calm down, okay? Everything is going to be fine…Don't condemn yourself for what you did or how you acted."

Piccolo: "What if we would already had a child?"

Dende: "But we don't, so don't get caught up on the "What ifs", Piccolo."

Piccolo: "I'll NEVER…loose control of myself like that again…"

*a small hesitation*

Piccolo: "I'm…sorry…"

*By now Piccolo's face was up against Dende's chest. All Dende could do was rub Piccolo's back and try to comfort him once more. What was done was done. Neither one of them could turn back time*

Dende: "It's okay. You were already forgiven now just as you were then. I'm happy you acknowledge completely now how you were acting and I hope what you say is true. I don't want you, or anyone, acting that way around our child either. The only thing you can do now though is keep to that promise and never let yourself act that way again."

*Piccolo held Dende tightly in agreement. Dende was right, and if anything, Piccolo was just relieved that he was still forgiven and that they could now move on from what happened. Piccolo knew for sure Dende must really love him. Dende didn't deserve how Piccolo had done him, yet Dende let Piccolo stick around. But now, it was all over, it was time for a new beginning*


End file.
